
Lions' Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan is punished for his hit on Australia's Tom Lynagh
Sheehan's challenge in the first half of the Lions' 22-12 loss at Accor Stadium went unpunished by Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli before he was retrospectively cited.
Replays showed the 26-year-old's elbow appeared to make contact with his opponent's head.
Wallabies fly-half Lynagh kicked a penalty moments after the incident but was then withdrawn for a head injury assessment (HIA) and did not return.
Sheehan will be unavailable for Leinster's pre-season clash with Cardiff on September 13 and United Rugby Championship (URC) fixtures against South African sides the Stormers and the Sharks on September 26 and October 11 respectively.
If he serves the full four-match ban, the forward will also sit out his province's URC clash with rivals Munster on October 18.
World Rugby's independent review committee deemed Sheehan's actions to be reckless, that contact was made with Lynagh's head, and ruled the action amounted to a high degree of danger without mitigation.
Sheehan, who was captaining the Lions at the time after skipper Maro Itoje failed an HIA, has accepted the sanction.
However, in his submissions, the player did not agree foul play occurred or that the offence warranted the citing.
Despite their weekend loss, Andy Farrell's Lions celebrated a 2-1 series success over Australia following victories in Brisbane and Melbourne.
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Wales Online
6 hours ago
- Wales Online
What the 2029 Lions team could look like as Louis Rees-Zammit joins Jac Morgan
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Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. Just days after the third and final Test of this year's tour in Brisbane, there is already debate over who will be involved next time around. Head coach Farrell has received backing to lead the squad again in 2029, but what about the players? Many of this year's tourists will be out of contention by the time the next tour comes around, while there is also likely to be some currently-unknown talents who will put themselves in the mix over the next four years. That said, we've had a go at predicting what the Lions team may look like come 2029, with Jac Morgan no longer the only Welsh player involved. Article continues below Of course, four years is a very long time in rugby, so this could well end up being completely wrong. However, on the off-chance that I could look like a genius, let's take a look into the crystal ball. 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Scotland scrum-half Ben White should also be at the top of his game by the time 2029 comes around, with the likes of Jamison Gibson-Park and Tomos Williams set to be either retired or reaching the tail-end of their careers. Marcus Smith, Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley are all likely to be in the picture at fly-half, with the former - the more experienced of the Smiths - potentially aggrieved to not be starting. Meanwhile, England duo Alex Mitchell and Jack van Poortvliet are also set to be scrum-half candidates. Front row: Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Dan Sheehan, Will Stuart Into the forwards, and there is a degree of familiarity with Sheehan and Stuart both making the cut. Ireland hooker Sheehan was a real contender for the player of the tour this summer, and is currently one of the best in the world, combining the power of a forward with a pace of a back and scoring a bucketload of tries at the same time. He could even be a candidate for captain in four years' time. 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Times
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- Times
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Glasgow Times
10 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Dan Sheehan handed four-match suspension for reckless clearout of Tom Lynagh
The sanction will be reduced to three games, subject to the Ireland and Leinster player successfully completing a coaching intervention course. Sheehan's challenge in the first half of the Lions' 22-12 loss at Accor Stadium went unpunished by Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli before he was retrospectively cited. Dan Sheehan started all three of the British and Irish Lions' Tests in Australia (Robbie Stephenson/PA) Replays showed the 26-year-old's elbow appeared to make contact with his opponent's head. Wallabies fly-half Lynagh kicked a penalty moments after the incident but was then withdrawn for a head injury assessment (HIA) and did not return. Sheehan will be unavailable for Leinster's pre-season clash with Cardiff on September 13 and United Rugby Championship (URC) fixtures against South African sides the Stormers and the Sharks on September 26 and October 11 respectively. If he serves the full four-match ban, the forward will also sit out his province's URC clash with rivals Munster on October 18. Australia fly-half Tom Lynagh, right, failed a head injury assessment following Dan Sheehan's challenge (David Davies/PA) World Rugby's independent review committee deemed Sheehan's actions to be reckless, that contact was made with Lynagh's head, and ruled the action amounted to a high degree of danger without mitigation. Sheehan, who was captaining the Lions at the time after skipper Maro Itoje failed an HIA, has accepted the sanction. However, in his submissions, the player did not agree foul play occurred or that the offence warranted the citing. Despite their weekend loss, Andy Farrell's Lions celebrated a 2-1 series success over Australia following victories in Brisbane and Melbourne.