Ryan Baird cleared to face Italy
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Ireland U20s second rower Ryan Baird has been cleared to face Italy in the U20 World Championships despite receiving a red card against Australia on Saturday.
Baird was shown a straight red card for his tackle on Will Harrison after 20 minutes. Referee Christopher Ridley consulted his TMO for sometime before concluding that there was direct contact with the neck with a high level of danger and issued the red card.
RED CARD:
— eir Sport (@eirSport) June 8, 2019
20 mins:
Australia U20s 3-0 Ireland U20s
Ireland second orow Ryan Baird is sent off for a neck-high tackle on Australia fly-half Will Harrison.#FutureIsGreen #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/611H0lAINY
World Rugby confirmed that there would be no further sanctions following the Disciplinary Committee’s decision.
"Ireland second-row Ryan Baird appeared before an independent World Rugby Disciplinary Committee chaired by José Luis Rolandi (Argentina) along with Stefan Terblanche (former South African player) and Valeriu Toma (former Romanian referee) in Rosario on 10 June, 2019 following the red card issued by referee Christopher Ridley in Ireland’s match against Australia in the World Rugby U20 Championship on 8 June, 2019 in Santa Fe, Argentina, for a high tackle on Australia’s fly-half Will Harrison in breach of Law 9.13.
The Committee received evidence from Baird, Harrison, the Australian team doctor and the referee as well as a presentation by the player and his team management.
The Disciplinary Committee found that on detailed analysis there had not been direct contact between Baird’s arm and Harrison’s head and that Baird’s tackle had slipped up from the shoulder. Applying the World Rugby Decision Making Framework for High Tackles (laws.worldrugby.org/en/guidelines) elected to impose no further sanction."
