In a blow to England’s Rugby World Cup campaign, Owen Farrell will not be available for the crucial Pool D matches against Argentina and Japan. The suspension also includes this month’s warm-up games against Ireland and Fiji.
World Rugby lodged an appeal against the decision to downgrade Farrell’s red card for a high tackle in a match against Twickenham on August 12 to a yellow card.
Many expressed outrage when it was ruled that Farrell’s shoulder-led challenge, which caused Wales flanker Taine Basham to fail a Head Injury Assessment, was only a sin-binning offense.
The appeal committee found that the original hearing failed to consider Farrell’s failure to wrap when attempting the tackle, which was a key aspect in upgrading the decision from yellow to red card through the bunker review system’s analysis.
Based on this, a fresh hearing was scheduled and after a video session, it was determined that a sending-off was the appropriate outcome as hitting Basham’s head was “always illegal”.
World Rugby’s guidelines state that mitigation does not apply to “always-illegal acts of foul play”, therefore Farrell should not have been cleared even if Basham’s body dynamics had changed before contact was made.
Due to Farrell’s acceptance of foul play, demonstration of remorse, and good character, his automatic six-match ban has been reduced to four games.
This means that the 31-year-old will be available for the second half of Pool D, including matches against Chile and Samoa, as well as potential knockout clashes.
Although the ban is considered to be the correct outcome given the sport’s emphasis on addressing dangerous play, England’s preparations for the crucial group games will be affected without their star player.
George Ford is expected to fill in as fly-half against Argentina and Japan, with Marcus Smith providing cover from the bench. Although they are talented alternatives, the disruption to Steve Borthwick’s plans is significant.
England may also face the loss of another key player, Billy Vunipola, after he was sent off for a dangerous tackle against Ireland. The outcome of his hearing is expected on Wednesday.
While some have criticized Farrell, Steve Borthwick defended him against personal attacks on his character. Attack coach Richard Wigglesworth commended Farrell’s resilience and handling of the situation.
In an ironic twist, the referee for the Pool D match against Japan, Nika Amashukeli from Georgia, is the same official who sent off Farrell in the Welsh game and issued yellow cards to three other England players.
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