Although his tour is still in doubt because of an ankle injury, Cian Healy will face no disciplinary action following accusations of biting following Wednesday’s game against Western Force.
The Irish prop had something of a torrid experience in what was his first start in a Lions shirt, first having to cry off with what looked like a nasty ankle injury before allegations surfaced during and after the game that he had bitten Western Force scrum-half Brett Sheehan.
Healy was hauled before a disciplinary hearing at the Lions team hotel in Brisbane earlier today after being cited on the grounds of an "act contrary to good sportsmanship" but independent judicial officer Nigel Hampton QC found that there was insufficient evidence to punish the Leinster forward and that if there was contact between Healy’s mouth and Sheehan’s arm, that it was likely unavoidable.
"There is no conclusive video evidence of the incident and post-match it was not possible to distinguish any discernible bite marks outside of the 'regular' marks usually found following a rugby match," Hampton found.
"I cannot prove on the balance of probabilities that there was a deliberate bite here and the citing complaint is not upheld."
Sheehan himself had claimed that the incident may have been deliberate or accidental but having his name cleared will come as a relief to Healy, even though it isn’t the only thing troubling him at the moment as he entered the hearing wearing a protective boot on the ankle injured in Perth on Wednesday.
He was due to undergo a scan on the injury in Brisbane today but he faces a race against time to recover and make any sort of impact on the remainder of the tour while English prop Alex Corbisiero has already been called up as cover.
