By Gareth James
Billy Vunipola and Owen Farrell will miss England’s opening Rugby World Cup match against Argentina after being handed bans following their red cards in warm-up fixtures, that included a second match against Wales.
Vunipola was sent off against Ireland last weekend and has been banned for three matches, but it will be reduced to two if he agrees to attend tackle school.
That would mean Vunipola, the only out-and-out No 8 head coach Steve Borthwick opted for in his squad, just misses England’s first group game against the Pumas, as well as the final warm-up match against Fiji this Saturday.
Vunipola admitted his tackle was foul play worthy of a red card and, because of this, World Rugby’s “mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head” was applied.
This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension but due to the player’s “exemplary previous record, immediate apology and remorse, and the absence of any aggravating factors”, it was decided by the committee to reduce the six-week entry point by three weeks.
"We're sad for Billy…" 😞
England's Maro Itoje reacts to Billy Vunipola's three-match ban ahead of the Rugby World Cup 🏴🏉 pic.twitter.com/LDJlA1OYwK
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 23, 2023
Captain Farrell will miss the first two matches of the World Cup after an independent disciplinary hearing upheld his red card on Tuesday, handing the fly-half a four-match suspension, including the Pool D fixtures against Argentina and Japan.
World Rugby had appealed against the decision of a disciplinary panel to downgrade Farrell’s red card for a high tackle against Wales at Twickenham on August 12 to yellow.
Farrell ploughed into Taine Basham’s head, causing the Wales flanker to fail an HIA.
The original disciplinary hearing cleared Farrell, finding mitigation in a late change in dynamics by Basham, but an outcry followed the failure to issue a ban and World Rugby appealed.
🚨 BREAKING:
Owen Farrell has been banned for FOUR games for his tackle on Taine Basham.
He will miss TWO of England's #RWC2023 pool stage matches. pic.twitter.com/mmIEDHKTGV
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) August 22, 2023
The appeal committee found that the original hearing had not considered Farrell’s failure to wrap when attempting the tackle, which had formed a key part of the bunker review system’s analysis when upgrading from yellow to red.
“The appeal committee unanimously determined that in the original hearing the disciplinary committee should have considered the attempt of the player to wrap his opponent in the tackle. This point did not feature in the original decision,” a statement from Six Nations Rugby said.
“As this element did not feature in the original decision, the appeal committee decided it was in the interests of justice to hear the case afresh on that key point alone, which included hearing from the player.”
The decision on Farrell brings to an end a saga that has unsettled England’s preparations for the World Cup and the plans of coach Borthwick.
England next host Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday August 26, in their final Rugby World Cup warm-up clash, before heading to France. They face Argentina in Marseille on Saturday September 9 in their World Cup opener.
The yellow that became a red then a yellow is now a red again. World Rugby win their appeal and Owen Farrell’s banned for four matches. He’ll miss Argentina & Japan at the World Cup. The sport’s disciplinary system needs an overhaul to make sure this never happens again. pic.twitter.com/4aES600sqN
— Nick Mullins (@andNickMullins) August 22, 2023