Ellis Genge leapt to the defence of Freddie Steward after the full-back’s red card put England on the back foot in the 29-16 defeat to Ireland in Dublin yesterday.
Steward was dismissed in added time in the first half for a reckless challenge on opposite number Hugo Keenan, leaving England with a near-impossible task against the world’s No. 1 team.
Keenan seemed to be ducking into Steward’s tackle as the Leicester man turned his body away and hit the Irishman with his elbow.
Referee Jaco Peyper went upstairs to the TMO and a disconsolate Steward trudged off but prop Genge said it did not warrant a dismissal.
He said: “We play a contact sport. I don’t want anyone to get hit in the head and I certainly don’t want anyone chucking elbows and shoulders, but there was absolutely no malice in what Freddie did – no malice whatsoever.
“He didn’t intend to hurt anyone. He actually tried to pull out and not hurt the bloke so it was a complete and total accident for me and I don’t think he can be punished like that. But a red is a red and we just had to deal with it. The referee made his decision, fair play. In a high-pressure game, the ref has to make big calls and he made one.
“I feel for the ref to a certain degree. You have to make a decision and he would probably get hammered by his superiors if he doesn’t make that decision. There’s a lot of stuff going on about head trauma at the moment, so I get it to a certain extent.
“For me, it’s not a red but I’m not going to make an excuse because I think we had an opportunity to win.’
England captain Owen Farrell could be heard on the ref microphone questioning Peyper’s decision and saying “Red card? Red Card?” But Peyper was having none of it and Steward was off. Farrell added: “I was surprised if I am honest but it is not up to us. We don’t make the rules, we don’t hear what goes on in the ref ‘s mic and the process they go through. That is the decision they came to and we have to accept it.”
On BBC Radio, former England scrum-half Matt Dawson said Steward was trying his best not to make contact as he and Keenan flew towards each other. “The officials are showing a lack of understanding of the game,” said Dawson. “I can’t disagree with how the contact is a red but it is the context of how it went to that contact.
“(Steward) is stepping and slowing and turning to get out of the contact area, and has been punished by being sent off. It is a mockery. He was doing his utmost to avoid any kind of contact. It is an utter farce.”
The result was a triumph for Owen’s father, Ireland‘s head coach Andy who led his team to their fourth Grand Slam which marked Johnny Sexton’s last game in the Six Nations in style.
Sexton limped off near the end to a standing ovation as the Irish finished off a clean sweep for the first time in Dublin. Their previous slams have been clinched in Belfast, Cardiff and Twickenham.
Coach Farrell said: “We’ve done this four times, but this is the first time we’ve done this at home and it means so much for the Irish here and around the world. It was squeaky bum time for a while at 10-9, and the pressure France had put on us in recent weeks.
“It was stop-start match, a proper Test match, but in the end we have a bonus point victory. This is unbelievably fitting for Johnny, he wanted to lift the trophy with someone else, but I told him he mustn’t, and he and we have bigger fish to fry with the World Cup coming up.”
Ireland lock James Ryan added: “This is one of the best nights of our careers to date. We didn’t quite get it right in the first half, but we stuck in there and found a way.”
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