Ospreys' Moriarty banned for three games

Ross Moriarty has been banned for three matches following his red card in Ospreys' defeat at Benetton last weekend.

The Wales number eight, who had earlier been sin-binned, was shown a red card for a dangerous clearout.

A United Rugby Championship (URC) statement said Moriarty accepted that he had committed an act of foul play.

A disciplinary panel felt the incident warranted a ban of six weeks, but Moriarty's ban was halved thanks to his "good record, remorse and exemplary conduct throughout the disciplinary process".

The ban will be reduced to only two games if Moriarty completes the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme.

He will definitely miss Ospreys' trip to Connacht on Saturday and the Challenge Cup last-16 game against Ulster on Saturday, 4 April.

Moriarty, 31, could also miss a potential Challenge Cup quarter-final or the URC game against Sharks on 18 April if he does not complete the World Rugby course.

Speaking about the sending off, Ospreys head coach Mark Jones said: "It's quite a dynamic situation.

"The player there is bound to the tackle itself and there's not an opportunity for Ross to get his left arm through to get a good wrap, but he makes a really good attempt with his right arm and it's bound.

"But his height is the issue. If you look at it from the end-on camera, the player drops at the last second to his knees and that's the difference between hitting him on the shoulder and the head.

"When you are entering at the speed Ross was, it's going to be difficult to change his height. There is no malice there to damage the player, it was more around technically needing to be better."