Ireland will be without the services of front-row Tom O’Toole for the start of the Six Nations after he received a six-week suspension for foul play while on duty for Ulster.

The 26-year-old was red carded during Ulster’s United Rugby Championship (URC) defeat to Munster at Kingspan Stadium last month for an illegal clearout on Alex Nankivell at a ruck.

O’Toole‘s ban means he will miss Ireland‘s Six Nations game against England at the Aviva Stadium on February 1 and their Round Two clash with Scotland at Murrayfield a week later, as well as Ulster’s upcoming Champions Cup matches against Leicester and Exeter Chiefs and their URC clash with Zebre Parma.

The suspension has been backdated to include Ulster‘s URC triumph over Connacht on December 28.

‘Plenty of debate on social media’

O’Toole’s offence was a contentious one which led to plenty of debate on social media with many feeling the red card decision was incorrect.

“Poor decision but what makes both codes of rugby unique is the respect for both the ref and players. Footballers are just cheats who give verbal’s and play act !” wrote Glen Barton on X, formerly Twitter.

Andrew Smith agreed and wrote: “What a soft sport rugby has become” while Alex Godfrey said: “Its not a red for me” and Dan wrote: “What a bizarre decision”.

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However, the URC issued a statement on their official website in which they clarified the decision.

“After an act of foul play by Ulster player No 3 (Tom O’Toole), referee Ben Whitehouse showed the player a red card in the 31st minute of the game under Law 9.20e – Dangerous play in a ruck or maul. A player must not drop their weight onto an opponent or target the lower limbs,” read the statement.

“In the player’s responses to the judicial officer overseeing the disciplinary process (Sheriff Kathrine Mackie, Scotland), he had accepted that he had committed an act of foul play which warranted a red card.

‘The player received four weeks (40%) mitigation’

“Sheriff Mackie found that the incident met the red card threshold, with entry point of top end warranting ten weeks. The player received four weeks (40%) mitigation for his admission of foul play, immediate apology and again post-match.

“The Munster player No 12 (Alex Nankivell) was unable to continue to play and with further assessment it was confirmed he injured his hamstring tendon. Due to the player receiving another red card for foul play in 2022, not all mitigating factors were applied. This results in a six game suspension.”

Ireland’s interim head coach Simon Easterby revealed that O’Toole “has been a constant member of the Ireland senior squad since debut in 2021. Barring injury or suspension he would be included in the 2025 Guinness Six Nations squad with a very good chance of being a named in the match day squad.”

Due to that, the URC felt that it was “appropriate” to include Ireland’s first two Six Nations fixtures in the suspension.

READ MORE: Six Nations: All the fixtures and kick-off times ahead of the 2025 edition

Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/ireland-forward-to-miss-six-nations-start-following-hefty-ban-for-bizarre-decision