When Ireland's towering lock James Ryan got slapped with a red card, it was more than just a bad day at the office—it was school time. Sent to the infamous "tackle school" after a hazardous move on South Africa's Malcolm Marx during the Dublin Test, Ryan's rugby lesson was a tough pill to swallow. The initial yellow card escalated to red post-match, contributing to Ireland's 24-13 defeat, a game marred by a total of five cards against the home side.
Post-game, an independent disciplinary committee branded the incident mid-range foul play, with a starting penalty of a six-week ban. Thanks to Ryan's squeaky-clean past and his quick admission of guilt, this was halved, then slashed further after he completed World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme, ultimately benching him for just two matches with Leinster.
The lock didn't mince words about the impact of his dismissal.
"I was devastated, to be honest. Because it was at such an important point in the game. We’d just scored, the try got reversed. They got a penalty and I was sent off,"
Ryan shared with the Irish Examiner.
"Big moment in the game and I felt like I let the lads down a little bit there really."
The moment was pivotal, and Ryan acknowledged the fine margins at play, admitting,
"It probably cost us a little bit in the end. I’m not going to make any excuses for it … it was just a poor moment for me more than anything."
As for his rehabilitation stint in "tackle school," it wasn’t just a slap on the wrist but a re-education. Ryan described the process:
"It was just some scenario stuff, so we’d kind of mimic maybe the ruck again,"
he explained.
"We’d put a couple of tackle pads into the back of the ruck to lengthen it a bit. I talked through maybe what I should have done differently and what I will do next time. We’d record that and send it on to them … and they were happy with it."
Clearly, it's back to the drawing board for Ryan, but with his new insights, he's poised to tackle what comes next—hopefully with less fallout. As for the rest of us, we're just spectators in the wild world of rugby discipline, where every game is a lesson and sometimes, players have to do a little homework.
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When Ireland's towering lock James Ryan got slapped with a red card, it was more than just a bad day at the office—it was school time. Sent to the infamous "tackle school" after a hazardous move on South Africa's Malcolm Marx during the Dublin Test, Ryan's rugby lesson was a tough pill to swallow. The initial yellow card escalated to red post-match, contributing to Ireland's 24-13 defeat, a game marred by a total of five cards against the home side.
Post-game, an independent disciplinary committee branded the incident mid-range foul play, with a starting penalty of a six-week ban. Thanks to Ryan's squeaky-clean past and his quick admission of guilt, this was halved, then slashed further after he completed World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme, ultimately benching him for just two matches with Leinster.
The lock didn't mince words about the impact of his dismissal.
"I was devastated, to be honest. Because it was at such an important point in the game. We’d just scored, the try got reversed. They got a penalty and I was sent off,"
Ryan shared with the Irish Examiner."Big moment in the game and I felt like I let the lads down a little bit there really."
The moment was pivotal, and Ryan acknowledged the fine margins at play, admitting,"It probably cost us a little bit in the end. I’m not going to make any excuses for it … it was just a poor moment for me more than anything."
As for his rehabilitation stint in "tackle school," it wasn’t just a slap on the wrist but a re-education. Ryan described the process:
"It was just some scenario stuff, so we’d kind of mimic maybe the ruck again,"
he explained."We’d put a couple of tackle pads into the back of the ruck to lengthen it a bit. I talked through maybe what I should have done differently and what I will do next time. We’d record that and send it on to them … and they were happy with it."
Clearly, it's back to the drawing board for Ryan, but with his new insights, he's poised to tackle what comes next—hopefully with less fallout. As for the rest of us, we're just spectators in the wild world of rugby discipline, where every game is a lesson and sometimes, players have to do a little homework.