Owen Farrell banned for two Rugby World Cup matches after high tackle

• Owen Farrell has been banned from two World Cup pool matches.
• Farrell will miss England’s games against Argentina and Japan.
• World Rugby’s appeal was based on prioritizing player welfare.

Owen Farrell will not be able to participate in England’s first two World Cup pool matches due to a successful appeal by World Rugby against the decision to overturn his red card.

This means that he will miss the games against Argentina and Japan in the group stage and a couple of warm-up matches.

An independent judicial committee had initially removed Farrell’s red card, but this decision was overturned recently.

The appeal committee argued that his tackle was always against the rules. In the match against Wales on August 12, Farrell was shown a red card for a high tackle on Taine Basham, becoming the first English player to receive such a card using rugby’s new review system.

The appeal committee concluded that the original disciplinary committee should have taken into account Farrell’s effort to wrap his opponent in the tackle.

Thus, the appeal committee determined that the tackle could not be excused, and the decision to remove the red card was a mistake, resulting in Farrell’s ban.

This suspension also includes the recent defeat against Ireland and the upcoming warm-up match against Fiji, alongside the first two pool matches. Farrell will be eligible to play again on September 23 against Chile.

World Rugby’s appeal was based on prioritizing player welfare. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) in England had already introduced a reduction in tackle height for community rugby. It had tightened rules around high tackles in professional matches to improve player safety.

Billy Vunipola, England’s number eight, is also set to face a disciplinary panel for a red card he received in the loss to Ireland, where he made a high tackle with direct head contact on Ireland’s Andrew Porter.

If Vunipola receives a suspension longer than one game, England will also miss their only specialist number eight at the beginning of the World Cup.

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