Ospreys full-back Lee Byrne's blood-bin began the 16-man confusion
Wales full-back Lee Byrne has had a two-match ban overturned, leaving him free to face England in the Six Nations opener at Twickenham on Saturday.

The ban had been imposed by European Rugby Cup after his brief appearance as an illegal 16th player in the Ospreys' 17-12 Heineken Cup win over Leicester.

The suspension has been replaced by a fine of 5,000 Euros on the 29-year-old.

Wales coach Warren Gatland had delayed naming his team, Byrne now set to start at 15, James Hook possibly at centre.

Gatland will name his team at 1300 GMT on Wednesday.

An independent ERC appeal committee comprising Scots Rod McKenzie, Lorne Crerar and Bill Dunlop sat in Glasgow on Tuesday and overruled the original suspension that was imposed last week.

Byrne and the Ospreys had both pleaded guilty to the misconduct complaints in Dublin on Friday, the club fined £21,666 (25,000 Euros) while the player was left facing missing out on the start of the Six Nations.

Is this a fair decision?
The committee chaired by Pat Barriscale of Ireland had found that Byrne had re-entered the pitch without the referee's permission and that he knew or ought to have known that he needed that permission.

The British and Irish Lions full-back had gone off in the second-half of the Heineken Cup Pool Three clash suffering from a dislocated and bloodied toe and was replaced by centre Sonny Parker.

But Byrne was sent back on at the Liberty Stadium three minutes later after treatment without any of his team-mates going off.

A Tigers player pointed out the Ospreys' numerical advantage to referee Alan Lewis, who then berated an Ospreys touchline official for not informing the match fourth official that Byrne had returned.

The official also did not award Leicester the penalty they should have had for Ospreys temporarily fielding an extra player.

Fly-half Dan Biggar eventually departed as the Ospreys returned to 15 men to hold on during a torrid finale of constant Leicester pressure.

Leicester claimed Byrne was involved in halting a break by scrum-half Ben Youngs as Tigers looked to claw back their 17-12 deficit.

The triumph ensured the Ospreys' qualification for the Heineken Cup quarter-final, while the defeat knocked Leicester out.

Byrne is one of Wales' key players and was badly missed when injured in the autumn as they slumped to defeats to New Zealand and Australia.

Welsh Rugby Union group chief executive Roger Lewis expressed his delight after hearing that Byrne was free to face England.

"I am delighted that the independent appeal committee have reached this decision which is great news for Lee Byrne and for Wales," said Lewis.

"It has been an extremely difficult time for the player, but we have been determined to give him all the support he needed to achieve this fair resolution of a difficult matter.

"It has not been an easy decision either for the original independent committee hearing the evidence or the appeal panel and I applaud them all on their diligence in this matter.

"I hope this sends out a message to the followers of Welsh rugby that the WRU is an organisation which will always stand by individuals who deserve and need our help.

"We sat down with Lee as soon as the original penalty was announced and started to plan for the appeal.

"There have been a lot of meetings and discussions over the past days but it has all been worthwhile because we are now celebrating an important victory for all concerned.

"I know how hard all the players, coaches and backroom staff in the national squad work for success and they must always be confident that the WRU will stand firm in support of all their efforts.

"We want every player who pulls on a Welsh jersey to know that we are with them all the way.

"Now it's back to business and we can all look forward to a great game of rugby at Twickenham."