France flanker Oscar Jegou has been handed a ban after being found to have gouged the eye of Scotland hooker Ewan Ashman in his side’s Six Nations defeat at Murrayfield.
Jegou was cited following an incident at a maul during the second half of France’s 50-40 defeat that ended their chances of a grand slam.
Video footage appeared to show the 22-year-old making prolonged contact with the eye area of Ashman close to the French line.
And at a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday, Jegou was given a four-week ban which will rule him out of France’s final fixture against England and several fixtures for La Rochelle in the Top 14 and Challenge Cup.
“In applying World Rugby’s sanctioning provisions, the independent Disciplinary Committee determined that the low-end entry point of six weeks was appropriate in light of the fact that (among other reasons) there was no injury caused to the victim,” said a Six Nations statement.
“In light of mitigating factors (including the player’s good conduct and good disciplinary record), the independent Disciplinary Committee applied a two-week reduction in sanction, thus reducing the final sanction to four weeks. There were no aggravating factors to increase the sanction.”
The four-week playing suspension will cover the following matches:
Saturday, 14 March 2026 – France v England
Saturday, 21 March 2026 – La Rochelle v Pau
Saturday, 28 March 2026 – Bayonne v La Rochelle
Saturday, 4 April 2026 – Newcastle v La Rochelle
With Jegou absent, Fabien Galthie appears likely to move Charles Ollivon into his starting back row for the meeting with England, and is considering promoting Toulouse locks Thibaud Flament and Emmanuel Meafou from the bench.
Jegou’s suspension is the second high-profile gouging incident in international rugby in recent months, with South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth banned for 12 matches in December following an incident against Wales.
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