The Disciplinary process related to Josh Murphy's Red Card in the BKT United Rugby Championship Round 4 game against Ulster on Saturday, October 12th has resulted in a four-game suspension.
After an act of foul play by Connacht player No 5 (Josh Murphy), referee Andrew Brace showed the Player a Red Card in the 71st minute of the game under Law 9.13 – A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.
In the Player’s responses to the Judicial Officer overseeing the disciplinary process (Mr. Simon Thomas, Wales), he had accepted that he had committed an act of foul play which warranted a Red Card. Mr. Thomas found that the incident met the Red Card threshold, with entry of mid-range warranting six weeks. The Player received two weeks mitigation due to his apology to Ulster No 16 and the referee, his full engaged participation in the disciplinary process and good record which results in a four game suspension.
Should the Player complete the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme then the sanction will be reduced by one week.
Fixtures Josh Murphy is unavailable for:
Connacht v Leinster, 19th October 2024, BKT URC
Connacht v Dragons, 26th October 2024, BKT URC
Connacht A v Leinster A, 16th November 2024
Connacht A v Ulster A, 22nd November 2024
