England head coach Steve Borthwick refrained from offering a view on Owen Farrell’s red card that is likely to rule him out for the start of the Rugby World Cup.
Farrell was shown an on-field yellow card by referee Nika Amashukeli before the bunker review system upgraded it to a red, as the skipper’s evening was ended.
England impressively managed to rally, and despite being down to 12 men at one point – after Freddie Steward and Ellis Genge were carded – they prevailed 19-17.
Wait and see
The Red Rose are now likely to lose their captain for their Rugby World Cup Pool D opener against Argentina on September 9, with a longer absence also possible.
Borthwick will definitely be without Farrell for their remaining warm-up games against Ireland and Fiji in the coming weeks, as he was asked about the high tackle.
“I’ll wait and see what comes of the disciplinary process,” said the head coach.
“Right now, it would be wrong for me to comment on an individual incident that would likely go through a disciplinary procedure. I’ll deal with the facts of the situation.”
England were 17-9 down when Farrell was carded, but they showed courage to come back thanks to a try from Maro Itoje and a George Ford penalty to seal victory.
“I’m incredibly proud of the character that the players showed,” beamed boss Borthwick, who confirmed scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet was nursing an ankle injury.
“To go down to 12 men and be resilient and fight your way through that situation is immense credit to them. They just keep going.
“And that’s something they’ve worked hard to instil in this group, which is not something you’d potentially have said in the past.”
Wales coach Warren Gatland was also asked his view on the decision to upgrade Farrell’s yellow card to a red following making contact with Taine Basham’s head.
“It was the right decision on the day. Hopefully, for Owen’s sake, he does not get too long a ban, you need someone like him in the game,” said a sympathetic Gatland.
“He’d be a big loss to England if he does have a lengthy ban. Given his previous, I’m not too sure what’s going to happen with that, fingers crossed it’s not long for him.”
Steward call
Another England player to be given an on-field yellow card was Steward after he took out Josh Adams in the air, with Gatland also pressed for his take on the incident.
“It was probably on the threshold of a yellow to a red. He’s taken him out high in the air,” he said.
“Sometimes that decision, if it had been made by another official, might have been a red card. It was pretty close. It will be interesting to see what they come back with when they review it.”
READ MORE: England v Wales: Five takeaways as Steve Borthwick’s side steal win despite backline and injury woes
The article Straight bat from Steve Borthwick while Warren Gatland gives view on Owen Farrell red card appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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