Denis Coulson, the former Ireland U20 rugby player, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of raping a woman in Bordeaux, France, in 2017. The verdict was announced on Friday at Bordeaux's Cour d'Assises, where the Dublin-born player and former team member of Connacht and Stade Français faced serious charges.
Coulson was one of two former rugby internationals sentenced, with Chris Farrell, a member of Ireland's Grand Slam-winning 2018 Six Nations squad, receiving a four-year prison sentence, though two of those years were suspended for failing to prevent a crime. Farrell will be subjected to an electronic tag for two years and must remain in France.
In total, five former rugby players, who once played together at FC Grenoble, stood trial. Loick Jammes from France was also found guilty of rape and sentenced to 14 years, while Rory Grice, a 34-year-old from New Zealand, received a 12-year sentence for the same offense. Meanwhile, Dylan Hayes, another New Zealander, was given a two-year suspended sentence for not intervening.
All five defendants had consistently denied the charges laid against them, but the court ultimately delivered its verdict in what has been a high-profile case in European sports circles.
