It was a while ago, now, but French rugby watchers with longer memories may recall the other Top 14 semi-final between Toulouse and La Rochelle in Bordeaux on June 21 – and the second-half red cards for props Uini Atonio and Reda Wardi that, it could easily be argued, cost Ronan O’Gara’s side a place in the final.
Both players were later handed four-week suspensions by the French league’s disciplinary committee, but the date of their returns were left blank.
A straightforward person might consider that they would miss the early rounds of the new season. It...