Ospreys and Wales lock Ian Evans faces an anxious wait to see what his Six Nations availability will be like after he was cited for a red card for stamping in Friday’s Heineken Cup clash against Leinster in Dublin. Leinster won the game 36-3.
Evans has been a key player for Wales in recent times but will likely miss out on at least the first two of their Championship matches after Romain Poite red carded him for stamping on the face of Leinster lock Mike McCarthy, who left the field with blood pouring from his head.
Ospreys backs coach Gruff Rees admitted it might have been reckless, but said that even after multiple TV replays, Evans alleged stamping wasn’t clear and obvious.
“It was a big moment, but I’m not sure about it to be honest, like a lot of observers, I think. Perhaps it was a bit reckless, but there were a lot of replays needed to make a decision, which suggests it wasn’t that clear and obvious.
“It took five or six times in slow-mo to isolate the incident. I don’t know if that’s clear and obvious from a red card point of view, and it changes the game.
“You have to be absolutely certain with a red card, and that there were so many replays and there are still so many differing opinions on it suggests that the clips may not have been totally conclusive,” he added.
It looked as though a number of players could have been guilty of stamping, but as the one angle shows, Evans’ boot seemed to do the most damage.
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