World Rugby have lodged an appeal against Tuesday’s independent judicial committee (IJC) decision to rescind Owen Farrell‘s red card for a dangerous tackle made in Saturday’s match against Wales.
Farrell looked to be in the clear after the IJC found mitigating factors from the tackle made he made on Taine Basham, downgrading the offence to a yellow card due to Jamie George assisting in the tackle and diverting Basham into a lower body position.
But World Rugby feel that whilst they respect the process, the decision went against their key priority of player welfare that has become a major talking point in the game of late.
Their statement read: “World Rugby fully supports the important role that an independent disciplinary process plays in upholding the integrity and values of the sport, particularly regarding foul play involving head contact.
“Player welfare is the sport’s number one priority, and the Head Contact Process is central to that mission at the elite level of the sport.
“Having considered the full written decision, World Rugby considers an appeal to be warranted.
“In line with provisions set out under Regulation 17, an independent Appeal Committee will be appointed to determine the matter at the earliest possible opportunity.”
It was reported from Wednesday in some outlets that Farrell was not likely to be in the squad for Saturday’s game in Ireland.
With Ireland having named a strong team, Farrell’s omission and this new speculation around the England squad, the match is set to be the sternest test England have had since they were beaten by the same side in the final round of the Six Nations in March.
Borthwick has already lost one of his first choice half-backs with Jack Van Poortvliet out of the tournament after having ankle surgery, and if Farrell’s red is re-instated he is almost certain to be unavailable for England’s two most important group stage games, Argentina and Japan.
He will then have a decision to make about whether he takes his captain to the World Cup at all, knowing that Farrell will miss a significant portion of the tournament.
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