LAST UPDATE | 5 Feb

FRANCE’S STAR OUT-HALF Romain Ntamack will miss Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations trip to England after he was handed a three-match ban.

But the Toulouse 10 is likely to miss just two games and is set to be available for Les Bleus’ much-anticipated visit to Ireland on 8 March.

Ntamack was shown a red card in France’s opening win over Wales for a dangerous high tackle on Ben Thomas.

A disciplinary hearing on Wednesday upheld the red card and deemed the reckless tackle with head contact to have a mid-range entry point of six matches.

But Ntamack’s suspension was reduced to a maximum of three matches on the basis of the his guilty plea, remorse, previous disciplinary record and good conduct.

Ntamack may ultimately end up only missing two matches, as a further provision allows him to substitute the final match of the ban for participation in World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme.

While he will miss France’s Round 2 trip to Twickenham, Six Nations organisers said the second match of his suspension will be confirmed “in due course”.

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