England captain Owen Farrell is free to play after his red card against Wales was not upheld by a disciplinary hearing, Six Nations announced on Tuesday.
The shock decision means the fly-half is now available to play in his country’s remaining Rugby World Cup warm-up matches in a huge boost to the Red Rose.
Skipper Farrell was initially shown a yellow card in the game against Wales at Twickenham which was later upgraded to a red by the ‘Bunker’ review system.
Was expected to be suspended
Many expected the playmaker to be subsequently ruled out of their remaining warm-up clashes with Ireland and Fiji and their pool opener against Argentina.
However, the hearing decided that a “late change in dynamics” due to Jamie George’s involvement in the contact area “brought about a sudden and significant change in direction from the ball carrier” in a decision that clears the fly-half.
Using this mitigation it was decided by the all-Australian panel that Farrell – who was expected to face a mid-range sanction of a six-week suspension – should have been hit with a sin-binning only and he is now able to play on.
The England and Saracens star appeared before the independent judicial committee via video link and admitted that his shoulder-led tackle to the head of Wales flanker Taine Basham – who as a result failed an HIA – was illegal but worthy of 10 minutes in the sin-bin only.
🧐 I’m struggling to see the ‘sudden and significant change in direction’ in Basham’s carry from George’s actions that would really result in Owen Farrell making a dangerous tackle here
He is launching from the start and making a bad tackle regardless.
A precedent has been set. pic.twitter.com/bBhCTJfEwT
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) August 15, 2023
After a review of the evidence, it was decided that the “foul play review officer was wrong, on the balance of probabilities, to upgrade the yellow card”.
In coming to its verdict, the panel said no criticism of the foul play review officer was being made given the time in which he had to review the incident and make a decision.
It means that the England captain, who was widely tipped to miss the Rugby World Cup opener against Argentina on September 9, is free to lead England against Ireland this weekend.
Farrell has been suspended for a total of 11 games for dangerous tackles spanning three incidents.
It had been widely expected that number would increase after the tackle on Basham last Saturday, with England fans already discussing whether George Ford or Marcus Smith would take the number 10 jersey for that crucial tournament opener against Los Pumas.
Available for Argentina clash
That game against Argentina is set to be pivotal to how Pool D plays out in France, with England and Los Pumas viewed as the leading contenders to make it into the knockout stages.
Farrell’s availability for the fixture will no doubt delight England head coach Steve Borthwick, as the player’s leadership will be key in such an important match.
England will then take on Japan the following week before rounding out their pool campaign against Chile (September 23) and Samoa (October 7).
READ MORE: A closer look at all of Owen Farrell’s bans for dangerous tackles
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