Ireland's McGrath could face World Cup woe after Barbarians clash

AFP
May 29, 2015, 5:28 am


London (AFP) - Ireland's Jack McGrath may face a suspension that could ruin his World Cup hopes after kneeing Konstantin Mikautadze in the back during Ireland's 22-21 defeat against the Barbarians on Thursday.

The Leinster loosehead was sin-binned by referee Greg Garner after a video review in the first half of Ireland's non-cap international clash at Thomond Park in Limerick.

Ireland slumped to defeat with Alex Cuthbert scoring two tries and Leinster full-back Zane Kirchner landing the Barbarians' killer blow over many of his club-mates.

Craig Gilroy and Chris Henry claimed scores for Ireland, with Paddy Jackson's converted try coming too late to salvage a win from an unconvincing display.

Fly-half Ian Madigan escaped censure for stamping on Georgia lock Mikautadze when a maul collapsed in the 32nd minute, but McGrath was handed a yellow card for his actions at the same breakdown.

Ireland manager Joe Schmidt showed his feelings about McGrath's reckless actions by refusing to send him back on at the end of his 10-minute sin-bin.

The 25-year-old front-rower could face further retrospective punishment and any eventual sanction may threaten his World Cup participation.

Any suspension for McGrath would not start until Ireland's World Cup warm-up games in August and a ban of four or more weeks would leave his World Cup participation in doubt.

France lock Pascal Pape was handed a 10-week ban for kneeing Ireland number eight Jamie Heaslip in the back during this year's Six Nations tournament.

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