Ospreys in a flutter after league suspends points penalty but upholds fine

THE Celtic League have restored the four points deducted from the Ospreys after the club appealed a disciplinary penalty, but left the Welsh region furious by upholding a £100,000 fine.

An independent Celtic Rugby Disciplinary Appeal Committee met in London on Tuesday to consider an appeal by Ospreys against the four-point penalty and fine imposed by an independent disciplinary panel in May for "breaching tournament rules and committing misconduct".

The Ospreys had refused to play Ulster due to a front row shortage. The Magners League match was due to be played in January, but was postponed because of bad weather. It was rescheduled for March when internationalists were not available due to the RBS Six Nations Championship, and the Ospreys had scheduled a week's holiday for some players in what had been a free week in the league programme.

They argued they should not have been expected to play a rescheduled fixture then - despite the fact that other clubs did so, including Glasgow - and ultimately got away with it. When they did travel to Ulster, in April, the Ospreys had their full complement back and won the game convincingly en route to finishing second in the league and qualifying for the play-offs, which they went on to win.

The Celtic League was slow to convene a disciplinary hearing, so could not apply the penalty of four points to the 2009-10 competition, handing the Ospreys a minus four points start to this term instead..

The four points penalty has been suspended for two years, to be restored if the Ospreys contravene another rule. But costs were awarded against the club..