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Tom O’Toole Gets Six

The Disciplinary process related to Tom O’Toole’s Red Card in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Round 8 game against Munster on Friday, December 20 has resulted in a six game suspension.

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.

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. 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.

Fixtures Tom O’Toole is unavailable for:

  1. Connacht v Ulster, 28 December 2024, Vodacom URC
  2. Leicester v Ulster, 11 January 2025, Investec Champions Cup
  3. Ulster v Exeter Chiefs, 17 January 2025, Investec Champions Cup
  4. Ulster v Zebre Parma, 26 January 2025, Vodacom URC
  5. Ireland v England, 1 February 2025, Guinness Six Nations
  6. Scotland v Ireland, 8 February 2025, Guinness Six Nations

**Confirmation was received from Ireland’s interim Head Coach Simon Easterby that the Player 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. In these circumstances it is appropriate that Ireland’s first two matches are included.

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