Former Ireland U20 rugby international Denis Coulson received a 14-year prison sentence after being found guilty of raping a woman in Bordeaux, France, in 2017. The verdict was delivered on Friday at Bordeaux's Cour d'Assises, where Coulson, originally from Dublin, faced charges along with several former teammates.
Coulson played for Connacht and the French side Stade Français during his career. Alongside him, Chris Farrell, a member of Ireland's Grand Slam-winning 2018 Six Nations squad, was sentenced to four years, with two years suspended, for failing to prevent the crime. Rather than serving time in prison, Farrell will be required to wear an electronic tag for two years and remain in France.
The court proceedings involved five defendants, all of whom once played together at FC Grenoble. In addition to Coulson and Farrell, Loick Jammes, a 30-year-old from France, was handed a 14-year sentence after being found guilty of rape, while Rory Grice, a 34-year-old from New Zealand, received a 12-year sentence for the same charge. Dylan Hayes, also from New Zealand and aged 30, received a two-year suspended sentence for failure to prevent a crime. Throughout the trial, all five defendants denied the charges against them.
