IRELAND ASSISTANT COACH Johnny Sexton has said he doesn’t think that Tadhg Furlong would grab an opponent in the groin area, with the tighthead prop facing a disciplinary hearing this week after such an allegation.

Furlong will go before a disciplinary panel on Thursday following an accusation by Munster’s Gavin Coombes that the Leinster prop grabbed him in the groin area during the provinces’ URC clash last Saturday.

Furlong was cited under Law 9.27, which states that “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.”

Thursday’s hearing will take place via video conference, with Simon Thomas of Wales, Attie Heyns of South Africa and Scotland’s Pamela Woodman forming the panel.

Furlong is currently with Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad as they prepare for their upcoming Nations Championship clashes with Argentina, Fiji and South Africa, as well as a play-off game at the end of November.

Ireland hope to see him cleared of any foul play at Thursday’s hearing.

“Tadhg has been training, he’s been training really well,” said Sexton today at Ireland camp in Dublin.

“He has started the season pretty well. 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.”

While they wait to learn Furlong’s fate, Ireland have confirmed that outside centre Garry Ringrose is unlikely to play against Argentina, Fiji and South Africa next month due to a hamstring injury.

Farrell hasn’t called up a replacement outside centre, with Sexton saying Ireland feel they have enough options in that role.

“Yeah, we’ve still got a good few centres knocking around,” said Sexton. “Obviously Garry’s a big loss, like he would be to a lot of teams.

Johnny Sexton at Ireland training today. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

“We’ve had different guys running there over the last day or two already. Robbie [Henshaw]‘s run there, Jamie Osborne, Bundee [Aki] can step in there, Jimmy O’Brien can step in there, Jamie Benson can step in there.

“So 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.”

Out-half Sam Prendergast suffered a wrist injury in training with Leinster last week, missing the Munster game as a result, but Sexton said he is making promising progress ahead of the Argentina game.

“We saw him earlier doing a bit of passing with the physios, and he’s still working through that,” said Sexton.

“So, we’ll see how he pitches up over the next couple of days, maybe take a little bit of part in training at the back end of the week or, if not, maybe the start of next week.

“It’s really a day-by-day kind of see how it’s progressing, see how it’s healing up, and we’re very hopeful that he’ll be involved.”

If that clash against the Pumas comes too soon for Prendergast, Connacht’s Ciarán Frawley and Ulster’s uncapped Jamie Benson are the other out-half options in the Ireland squad.

“Frawls has gone really well with Connacht,” said Sexton. “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.”