Former referee boss Owen Doyle insisted that Ireland star James Ryan was let off lightly for his nasty clearout on Springboks hooker Malcolm Marx.<\/p>\n
The Leinster second-row was sent-off in the first half of the Irishmen\u2019s 24-13 defeat to South Africa on November 22.<\/p>\n
Ryan<\/a> received a three-week ban with it being mitigated down from six, but it could be further reduced to two if he completes World Rugby\u2019s Coaching Intervention Programme.<\/p>\n That means the lock could be available for the Irish province\u2019s second Investec Champions Cup games against Saracens next weekend.<\/p>\n Lenient punishment for Ryan<\/p>\n Doyle felt that the punishment handed out was lenient, given the severity of the incident and stated that he is not a fan of the governing body\u2019s \u2018tackle school\u2019 idea.<\/p>\n \u201cJames Ryan received a three-week suspension for his shoulder to the head of South Africa\u2019s<\/a> Malcolm Marx. It will be reduced to two weeks if Ryan undergoes the preposterously named \u2018coaching intervention programme,\u2019 aka tackling school,\u201d he wrote in his Irish Times<\/a> column.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is frankly nonsense for several reasons. If elite professional players don\u2019t know how to tackle properly, the game has a bigger problem than we thought.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are those, count me among them, who consider tackling school to be a device to get the player back on the pitch ASAP. Others will point out that those who do attend the class very rarely reoffend.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s really good news and would seem to offer a solution: all professional teams should carry out a preseason tackling school and confirm that every member in their squad has passed the exam.\u201d<\/p>\n Ex-Irish ref boss warns \u2018there\u2019s too much to lose\u2019 if Eben Etzebeth\u2019s \u2018egregious act\u2019 is dealt with leniently<\/a><\/p>\n World Rugby rejects law<\/p>\n Unlike Springboks locks Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebeth, who were all dismissed in November, Ryan did not receive a permanent red card.<\/p>\n