Furlong cleared of foul play by disciplinary committee

Updated / Thursday, 29 Oct 2026 23:04

Leinster's Tadhg Furlong has been cleared of any foul play following an incident with Munster's Gavin Coombes during their United Rugby Championship match last Saturday.

Coombes alleged during the game that his testicles had been grabbed and despite match referee Andrew Brace asking the TMO Colin Stanley to review the incident at the time, neither could find evidence of the incident.

However, the incident was included in the referee's report and subsequently reviewed by the citing commissioner Peter Ferguson.

Furlong appeared in front of an independent disciplinary committee - comprising of Simon Thomas (Wales), Attie Heyns (South Africa) and Pamela Woodman (Scotland) that "unanimously concluded that the citing complaint against the Player should be dismissed, on the basis that he did not commit an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.27."

Despite the dismissal of the complaint, the disciplinary committee concluded that Coombes had given "an honest account of his recollection of events surrounding the incident."

Furlong will available for selections for Ireland's Nations Championship campaign next month where Andy Farrell’s men will take on Argentina, Fiji, South Africa and one other team on Saturday, 28 November.

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