British & Irish Lions hooker Dan Sheehan has been cited for his dangerous cleanout during the Wallabies' 22-12 win at Accor Stadium.
The incident happened in the 32nd minute as the Irish hooker charged into the breakdown and collected flyhalf Tom Lynagh in the face.
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It was an incident that went unnoticed during the match, as Lynagh was left on the floor in back play before attempting to continue playing.
The Reds playmaker was eventually removed from the field for an HIA, which he would fail.
“British & Irish Lions player Dan Sheehan will have a citing complaint reviewed by an Independent Foul Play Review Committee (FPRC) after being cited by the independent citing commissioner Adrien Menez for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.20 (a) (a player must not charge into a ruck or maul…) in the Australia v British & Irish Lions third test in Sydney on Saturday, 2 August,” the statement from World Rugby said.
Both coaches, after the game, admitted they had missed the contact in real-time during a wild first half that saw Lions captain Maro Itoje also suffer a concussion.
“Live, we didn’t see Tom’s incident, and it was probably a little bit later that we got a glimpse of it, and that’s all I’ve seen so far,” Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said.
“…There’s always a difficulty for a TMO. He’s watching the main TV broadcast, and then if he doesn’t pick it up there, then he doesn’t access the other angles because everything’s happening so quickly.”
“There are all rugby incidents that we can pull apart. I’ve seen quite a few more incidents as well,” Lions counterparts Andy Farrell added.
“We’ll always go through the right channels when that’s concerned.”
Lynagh has had a noted history with head knocks, failing a HIA in the Reds’ quarter final defeat in June.
“For us with Tom, he is still a young kid and we’ll try to look after him and make sure that he’s fully fit on the back of getting that knock,” Schmidt added.
“I had a good chat to him after the game and he’s pretty resilient.”
