Ulster captain, Iain Henderson, has received a three game ban for a croc roll against the Stormers last week.
Henderson will miss the game against Glasgow this weekend, the Challenge Cup final against Montpellier and a possible playoff quarterfinal in the URC.
What happened in Ulster vs Stormers?
Henderson came into the ruck in the first half and performed the illegal clearout. He was judged to have broken Law 9.20 (d) – A player may remove the jackler from the tackle area, but must not roll, pull or twist an opponent – the Player was shown a yellow card by referee Andrea Piardi (FIR) in the ninth minute of the match that was subsequently upgraded to a 20-minute Red Card after review.
Henderson accepted he had committed a red card offence. The player was given full mitigation of a 50% reduction in his ban. This was due to his good record with only one previous ban in a 15-year career.
The panel also considered his “remorse and immediate concern for the opponent player plus his good conduct and full co-operation with the Disciplinary process.”
Path to the Challenge Cup final
Ulster have had a strong record in Europe this season after a difficult campaign last year. They needed some luck to get through the round of 16. A late Ospreys try was disallowed for a forward pass, which felt marginal.
They defeated a heavily rotated La Rochelle side 41-24 in the quarters. After a pair of interpro losses to Munster and Leinster, they then won comfortably at home to the Exeter Chiefs in the semi-final. They meet Montpellier in the final. The French side won the group phase and comfortably progressed through the knockouts.
