France's Ntamack suspended for two more games

Fly-half Romain Ntamack's suspension will cover France's Six Nations trip to Italy and potentially Ireland.

Ntamack already sat out of Saturday's 26-25 defeat to England, with World Rugby now confirming the remainder of his ban.

He was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Ben Thomas in the closing stages of France's 43-0 win over Wales in the opening round.

The Toulouse player was initially shown a yellow card after making shoulder-to-head contact with Thomas, but that punishment was upgraded following an off-field review.

Ntamack will miss the game against Italy on 23 February, but could be available for the trip to Dublin to take on Grand Slam-chasing Ireland on 8 March should he be successful in applying for and completing World Rugby's Coaching Intervention Programme.

An earlier disciplinary committee determined that the mid-range entry point of a six week/match suspension was appropriate for Ntamack's foul play in Paris.

After taking into account his guilty plea and previous disciplinary record, that punishment was reduced by 50%.

Ntamack was making his first international appearance for more than a year against Wales.

A serious knee injury caused the Toulouse star to miss a home Rugby World Cup in 2023 and last year's Six Nations, while he did not feature in his country's autumn internationals because of a calf problem.