Jonathan Danty slapped with five-week ban, set to miss two Six Nations clashes

Danty was shown a red card by referee Christophe Ridley during Sunday's dramatic 13-13 draw with Italy after making direct head-on-head contact while attempting to tackle Juan Ignacio Brex.

The La Rochelle three-quarter appeared before an independent disciplinary committee comprising of chair Jennifer Donovan of Ireland, England's Leon Lloyd and South African Stefan Terblanche via video link on Tuesday and admitted committing an act of foul play.

A statement from Six Nations Rugby said: "The player admitted that he had committed an act of foul play and that it had been worthy of a red card. The disciplinary committee accepted that the player had acted recklessly, and not maliciously or with intent.

"The disciplinary committee also highlighted that the player had accepted guilt at the earliest opportunity and shown immediate remorse on the field of play.

"On that basis and applying World Rugby's mandatory sanctioning provisions, the disciplinary committee concluded that the incident warranted a mid-range entry point of six weeks suspension.

"Mitigating factors (the player's apology, acknowledgement of guilt and good conduct at the hearing) were applied, reducing the six-week entry point by two weeks. However, one further week was added for aggravating factors (the player's disciplinary record) resulting in a five-week playing suspension."

Danty, who has a right of appeal, stands to miss the two internationals, the first of which takes place on the same day as his club's Top 14 fixture against Stade Francais, and La Rochelle's forthcoming matches against Bayonne, Oyonnax and Stormers.

He has been given permission to apply to take part in World Rugby's Coaching Intervention Programme, which looks to modify specific techniques and technical issues, instead of serving the final match of the sanction. 

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