No Irish player will appear before the Six Nations disciplinary committee despite France demanding that two do so for the ruck clear-out that caused Antoine Dupont a serious knee injury, the French rugby federation said Monday.
The federation had been notified that citings by French team officials after their 42-27 victory in Dublin would not go before the disciplinary committee, vice-president Jean-Marc Lhermet told AFP.
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France captain Dupont said Sunday he would be out of action for "a few months" after announcing that he had torn the cruciate ligaments in his right knee.
Dupont sustained the injury in the 29th minute when he was caught in a ruck with Irish lock Tadhg Beirne, supported by teammate Andrew Porter, appearing to land on him.
A citing against Ireland winger Calvin Nash for a high tackle on France centre Pierre-Louis Barassi will also not be pursued.
Nash was yellow carded for the tackle, but Barassi failed a head injury assessment and did not return to the pitch.
Barassi has also been ruled out of France's match against Scotland on Saturday.
Ireland's hopes of an unprecedented third successive title realistically rest on them thrashing Italy, with Scotland beating France and Wales upsetting England.
"I guess that's the challenge now, to put that disappointment behind them, and get themselves together, stay nice and tight, understand why we didn't get the result," said Easterby.
"Understand how we can get better next week and that's all they're ever about, just getting better whether we win or lose."
"...We still have a chance. We still genuinely feel like there's more in us.
"They're brilliant at just taking the positives, understanding why they didn't quite click and get the most out of the game. They'll work incredibly hard together to put in a performance next weekend."
