TWO minutes before half-time during last weekend’s Leinster-Munster grudge fixture, referee Andrew Brace stopped the match in response to Munster No.8 Gavin Coombes claiming that Tadhg Furlong had grabbed his genitals.
In the limited time at their disposal, neither Brace nor the TMO, Colin Stanley, could find evidence to support the allegation. Prompted by the referee’s report, the citing commissioner, Ulster’s Peter Ferguson, found sufficient for Furlong to be charged under Law 9.27:
“A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sports...