Rugby Six Nations ChampionshipFlanker Denis Leamy has been cleared of stamping on Italian scrumhalf Paul Griffen and is free to play for Ireland against France in Paris on Saturday.
At a disciplinary hearing in London yesterday afternoon the Ireland number eight was told he had no charge to answer. He had been cited by the independent citing commissioner after the Six Nations Championship match between Ireland and Italy at Lansdowne Road on Saturday. The three-man panel, chaired by Terry Vaux (Wales), arrived at the decision after viewing the video evidence and hearing the player's explanation.
Leamy's availability means his Munster team-mate and captain Anthony Foley will not start in the Irish backrow against France. Foley had been on standby pending the outcome of the hearing.
Instead Leamy starts in the backrow with David Wallace and Simon Easterby in an unchanged side to the one that defeated Italy.
The decision brings to a close a nervous but satisfactory few days for Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan. Following Saturday's match, Italy coach Pierre Berbizier had called for Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll and Leamy to be cited for stamping.
Commenting on the verdict, O'Sullivan said: "We are obviously delighted with the outcome of the panel and thought that justice was done. Denis and the rest of the squad can now concentrate on Saturday's game against France."
Leamy too was relieved at the outcome. "I am happy the whole process is now over and I believe I received a fair hearing regarding the incident," said the player. "I can now look forward to this weekend's game and performing to the best of my ability for Ireland."
Meanwhile, Ulster fullback Bryn Cunningham has joined the France-bound Ireland A squad as cover for Ian Dowling. The Munster winger sustained a leg injury in training on Tuesday and will be monitored over the next 48 hours. Although Dowling is expected to be fit to play, Ireland A coach Michael Bradley is not taking chances.
"Ian picked up an injury yesterday and we felt that as a precaution we would bring Bryn along as cover," he said. "We are fairly hopeful that Ian will be ready to win his first A cap on Friday night, but if he does not recover Bryn will join the replacements, with John Hearty moving to the right wing ."
The Ireland A team will play France A in Limoges tomorrow (6.30pm Irish time).
Following their 34-9 win over Italy under-21s at Dubarry Park last week, Ireland under-21 coach Mark McDermott has unsurprisingly named the same side to take on France in Strasbourg on Friday.
Ireland were expecting a physical encounter against Italy and that is exactly what they got, the home side eventually winning out and scoring five tries in the process. The French will represent another tough challenge given their 37-0 win over Scotland last weekend. But McDermott still feels his team can improve on certain areas of their game.
"Last week we took the majority of our scoring chances, so we were happy in that respect," said McDermott. "This week presents a whole new challenge and the key areas where we wanted to improve, such as our ball presentation at the breakdown and areas of our defence, will be vital for Friday's game."
The team will again be captained by hooker Stuart Philpott.
Meanwhile, Scotland have made one change to their starting line-up for the Six Nations match against Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, dropping hooker Doug Hall from the team that stunned France in favour of Scott Lawson. Hall was omitted from the 22-man squad and Border Reivers hooker Ross Ford has earned a place on the bench at the Millennium Stadium.
Wales head coach Mike Ruddock challenged his squad to "dispel the demons" of last weekend's 47-13 defeat to England after naming an unchanged starting XV.
The only changes to the squad come on the bench, where Bath number eight Gareth Delve returns from a hamstring strain in place of Alix Popham and Cardiff scrumhalf Mike Phillips comes in for Gareth Cooper, who dislocated his shoulder against England.
IRELAND UNDER-21 (v France, Strasbourg, 1.30 tomorrow): F Carr (Blackrock College); P Durcan (Galwegians), D Cave ( Belfast Harlequins), Conan Doyle (Garryowen), M Williams (Bristol Shoguns/Hartpury College); J Sexton (St Mary's College), P Marshall (Ballynahinch); D Hurley (UCC), S Philpott ( Belfast Harlequins, capt), P Doran-Jones (Dublin University), D Touhy (Gloucester/Hartpury College), D Toner (Lansdowne), R Noonan (UCC), E Uzoigwe (Hartpury College), B Holland (UCC). Replacements: S Cronin ( Shannon ), C Black (Worcester Warriors/Hartpury College), D McGowan (Buccaneers), S O'Brien (UCD), D Williams (UCC), T Gleeson ( Cork Con), F McFadden (UCD).
SCOTLAND (v Wales, Millennium Stadium, on Sunday): H Southwell; C Paterson, M Di Rollo, A Henderson, S Lamont; D Parks, M Blair; G Kerr, S Lawson, B Douglas, A Kellock, S Murray, J White (capt), S Taylor, A Hogg. Replacements: R Ford, C Smith, S MacLeod, J Petrie, C Cusiter, G Ross, S Webster.
WALES: (v Scotland): G Thomas (capt); M Jones, H Luscombe, M Watkins, S Williams; S Jones, D Peel; D Jones, R Thomas, AR Jones, I Gough, R Sidoli, C Charvis, M Williams, M Owen. Replacements: M Davies, G Jenkins, G Delve, AM Jones, M Phillips, N Robinson, Lee Byrne.
