Matt Dawson: 'O'Brien ban for punch is harsh'

Matt Dawson disagrees with the ban handed to Ireland's Sean O'Brien after he admitted striking an opponent against France in the Rugby World Cup.

O'Brien will miss Ireland's quarter-final with Argentina on Sunday after the altercation with French number eight Pascal Pape in their pool match at the weekend, despite the incident going unnoticed by the referee.

However, World Cup winner Dawson disagreed with the punishment. He said: "It's a game of rugby, it's a contact sport. If the referee had seen him, he probably would have given him a ticking off and moved on".

Former South African international Bob Skinstad and former Irish winger Shane Horgan were in agreement:

Speaking to 5 live's Sonja McLaughlan, Skinstad said: "He hits him once, give him a yellow card or give them penalty. Get the legal side of out of the way, he can apologise, and he can play the next week".

This clip first appeared on 5 live Sport 15 October 2015.