Rugby Union authorities are under significant pressure to challenge the “startling” verdict that reversed Owen Farrell’s red card due to dangerous play, allowing him to resume playing immediately.
The ‘Bunker’ review system resulted in an elevation of Farrell’s yellow card to a red card following a high tackle on Taine Basham.
Nonetheless, during the assessment by a disciplinary panel, they noted a shift in the dynamics of the contact zone as a mitigating factor.
The panel explained that the participation of England’s Jamie George in the tackle influenced Basham’s change in trajectory.
Reports this morning suggest World Rugby chiefs, which is headed up by former England captain Bill Beaumont, will be discussing the decision today.
However, at this stage an appeal seems unlikely.
Orthopedic surgeon Prof John Fairclough, a member of the player welfare group Progressive Rugby, responded that the verdict communicates an “entirely erroneous message.”
He said: “I do hope World Rugby or the Six Nations appeals this decision because otherwise all of us involved in community or youth rugby will find it very difficult to say to our players ‘tackle below the waist’.
“Because what they are seeing is that if you get a good barrister you will, as was said by Ford, they got away with it.
“That’s a really very bizarre thing because the neurons in the head of Taine Basham certainly didn’t get away with it because he had a head injury assessment that he failed. There is no legal representation for the brain of the injured player.”
Owen Farrell has been named the ‘biggest cheat’ in rugby today
Fans have been ranking who they consider the dirtiest players in the game today. In some cases it seems unpopularity saw them picked while other stars have been named and shamed for their thuggish actions on the field.
#5. Dan Biggar (Wales)
Biggar is the epitome of players you hate until they are on your team.The way the fly-half continues to moan to referees vociferously has seemingly only got worse throughout his career.
It got so bad that popular online personality and diehard Scotland fan Glove39 made a video called ‘birdman’ mocking the way in which he always raises his arms in frustration to officials.
