France's Romain Ntamack set to learn fate as disciplinary panel reviews red card

The playmaker was sent off with just a few minutes remaining when his shoulder connected with the head of Ben Thomas after the Welshman had kicked the ball.

Ntamack was initially sin-binned, with the incident being reviewed by the foul player review officer, before it was upgraded to a red.

The 25-year-old will now appear in front of a disciplinary panel on Wednesday morning after being in contravention of law 9.13, which states "a player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously."

It continues: "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."

Should Ntamack be banned, the fly-half could miss the rest of the Six Nations, which would be a huge blow for France and their head coach Fabien Galthie.

A suspension will certainly rule him out of the England encounter this weekend, but Les Bleus will hope it doesn't also take in the Ireland clash in Round Four.

The standard ban for this type of incident is usually six weeks but, when mitigation is applied, it can be reduced to three. Also, if Ntamack is eligible for World Rugby's coaching intervention programme - i.e. tackle school - he could have another week shaved off.

Galthie is hopeful, however, that there is enough mitigation in the actual collision with Thomas for him to avoid a suspension altogether.

"There is no question it's a yellow card, whether it's a red is debatable because he doesn't fully engage into the tackle," France's boss said after the 43-0 victory over Wales.

If the panel disagrees with Galthie, however, he will need to find someone else to fill the number 10 jersey for their game with England.

That was claimed by Thomas Ramos in the Autumn Nations Series and at the back end of the 2024 Six Nations, but he is likely to remain at fullback this weekend.

As a result, Matthieu Jalibert could well get his opportunity at pivot, despite walking out on the squad during their November campaign.

After missing out on the 23 for the All Blacks clash, Jalibert refused to be one of the five players who remained in case there was an injury, instead returning to his club side Bordeaux-Begles.

That episode raised questions about his Test future but he was named in the wider training squad ahead of the Six Nations and could well start at Twickenham on Saturday, according to Galthie.

"He (Jalibert) is a potential attacker and flyhalf for next Saturday," he said. "We prefer to have Thomas Ramos at the back."

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