Quinlan’s Lions Hopes Shattered.

Alan Quinlan’s hopes of joining his Munster colleagues on the plane to London on Monday for Lions assembly lay in tatters today after the ERC handed him a 12 week suspension on foot of the citing from the Heineken Cup semi-final clash with Leinster.

And even though the independent Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Roger Morris (Wales) and also comprising Simon Thomas (Wales) and Mike Hamlin (England), determined the offence to be at the low-range of the level of seriousness for an offence of this type, the suspension means Quinlan will not return to action until September 9th.

Whether or not Quinlan intends to appeal the decision will not be decided until the written decision has been received. He then has 72 hours to decide.

The player arrived at ERC HQ, Huguenot House just before 1pm in the company of solicitor Donal Spring and was preceded by Munster Team Manager Shaun Payne and captain Paul O’Connell. Some five hours later Payne emerged to inform the waiting media of the Committees’ findings and he went on to say, “Alan is absolutely distraught and everyone who knows rugby will know exactly how he feels. This (Lions Tour) would have been the pinnacle of his career but sadly for him that will not now be the case.”

Shortly after that Quinlan emerged from the building in the company of his wife Ruth hurriedly making their way in the evening drizzle to their car for the journey back to Limerick.