‘I don’t think that’s something he would have done’: Sexton backs Furlong over alleged groin-grabbing incident

Johnny Sexton has defended Tadhg Furlong after his former Ireland team-mate was cited for an alleged act of foul play during Leinster’s 24-18 win over Munster on Saturday. Furlong will face a disciplinary hearing on Thursday after being cited under Law 9.27: “A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship, including but not limited to grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals.”Munster number eight Gavin Coombes alleged he was grabbed in his groin area towards the end of the first half at the Aviva Stadium, prompting referee Andrew Brace to stop the game for an inconclusive video review.Speaking to the media at the IRFU High Performance Centre in his capacity as an Ireland assistant coach ahead of the upcoming Nations Championship games, Sexton said: “All I can say really is he’s been training. He’s been training really well.READ MORE“He started the season pretty well, and his body’s good, which is always a good thing with Tadhg. When his body’s good, he tends to play really well.“In terms of the incident, I can’t say too much about it, obviously, because the disciplinary process is ongoing, but I know Tadhg as a person, first and foremost, and I don’t think that’s something he would have done.“So, I just have to, I suppose, back him in that regard, but we’ll see what happens with the disciplinary hearing.”Furlong will face a disciplinary panel – comprising chairperson Simon Thomas (Wales), Attie Heyns (South Africa) and Pamela Woodman (Scotland) – via video conference on Thursday.Tadhg Furlong takes to the field ahead of Leinster's URC game against Munster at the Aviva last Saturday. Photograph: Nick Elliott/Inpho Bulls backrower Marcel Coetzee will also face a disciplinary panel on Wednesday after he was cited for an alleged act of foul play, “making contact with an opponent above the line of the shoulders”, against Ulster lock Ben Donnell on Saturday.Sexton was relatively optimistic about Sam Prendergast recovering from the wrist injury he picked up in training last week that ruled him out of Leinster’s win over Munster.“He’s progressed really well since then. We saw him earlier doing a bit of passing with the physios and he’s still working through that. So, we’ll see how he pitches up over the next couple of days, maybe take a little bit of a part in training at the back end of the week or, if not, maybe the start of next week,” said Sexton.Asked if he was hopeful Prendergast would be available in time for Ireland’s game against Argentina on November 6th, Sexton added: “Yeah, I think so. It’s really a day-by-day kind of, see how it’s progressing, see how it’s healing up. We’re very hopeful that he’ll be involved.”Concern over Prendergast has been offset by Ciaran Frawley’s form since joining Connacht, while Ulster’s uncapped utility back Jamie Benson is also primarily an outhalf.“Frawls has gone really well with Connacht. All Frawls needed was some time in the seat, really. He’s done really well so far. He has things to improve on, like every player when they come in. We have a certain way of playing here versus how Connacht do things, or some similarities, and so we’re saying, ‘Keep doing that and maybe just brush up a couple of other things,’ but he’s done really well.“Jamie Benson’s doing really well. I know he’s only had limited time at 10 and Sam has started the season well. Jack [Crowley], obviously his injury is ongoing, it’s disappointing. Obviously, we’d love to have him here, but we’ve still got some good options there.”Garry Ringrose was also ruled out of the Munster game after suffering a hamstring injury in training last week, but Sexton confirmed it has not prompted the need to call in midfield reinforcements.“We’ve still got a good few centres knocking around. Obviously Garry’s a big loss, like he would be to a lot of teams.“We’ve had different guys running there over the last day or two already. Like, Robbie’s run there, Jamie Osborne, Bundee [Aki] can step in there, Jimmy O’Brien can step in there, Jamie Benson can step in there.“There’s lots of different guys that can, so we’ll see how we’re going to play against Argentina and pick the best person we feel is right for the job.”