France centre Jonathan Danty will miss the rest of the Six Nations after being given a five-week ban for his red card in Sunday’s Six Nations game against Italy.

The 31-year-old admitted to the three-person independent committee that he had committed an act of foul play, initially bringing the length of his suspension down by two weeks from the entry point of six weeks before it was upgraded owing to his existing disciplinary record.

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It means he will miss France’s game against Wales at the Principality Stadium on March 10 and the final clash of the tournament against England on March 16.

Danty will also be unavailable for La Rochelle’s Top 14 fixtures away to Bayonne on March 23 and at home to Oyonnax on March 30, but he could return for the last-16 Champions Cup tie away to Stormers on April 6 if he takes part in tackle school.

The incident occurred towards the end of the first half when Danty rushed up in defence and clattered into Italy’s Juan Ignacio Brex, making direct head-on-head contact.

With the height of neither the attacker or the defender changing, referee Christophe Ridley had no choice but to issue a yellow card and send it to the bunker for further analysis.

Given the point of contact, the degree of danger and the fact there were no mitigating factors, it came as no surprise that the yellow was upgraded to red.

It left France to play the final 40 minutes in Lille with 14 men up against an Italy side desperate for their first Six Nations win since 2022 and a first-ever triumph over les Bleus in their own backyard.

With a reshuffled backline, France’s attack was blunted, but their defence held firm. It was, however, breached in the 70th minute when Ange Capuozzo finished off a brilliant move in the corner before Paolo Garbisi added the extras to tie the game with nine minutes left on the clock and set up a thrilling finale.

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Both sides went in search of a route to victory but it was Italy who were awarded a penalty with the clock in the red, only for Garbisi to strike the post in a rushed attempt after the ball dramatically fell off the tee as the shot clock ticked down.

It spared France’s blushes but the 13-13 draw still left their title hopes all but over after three underwhelming displays.

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