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England face anxious wait on Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marler disciplinary decisions

By Online Editors
(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

England will discover by Monday evening the extent of the disciplinary fallout from their 33-30 Guinness Six Nations victory over Wales at Twickenham.

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Manu Tuilagi must appear before a disciplinary hearing – most likely on Tuesday – to answer for the 75th-minute red card awarded for his dangerous tackle on George North.

And there could also be significant repercussions for Eddie Jones and Joe Marler, with the latter having grabbed Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones by the testicles in an incident clearly shown on replays.

Jones, England’s head coach, turned on referee Ben O’Keeffe shortly after watching his team throw away a commanding 33-16 lead by conceding late tries to Dan Biggar and Justin Tipuric in an anxious finish at Twickenham.

Prior to sending off Tuilagi for an offence that will incur a ban in the region of six weeks, O’Keeffe had dispatched Ellis Genge to the sin-bin for straying offside to leave England to play the last six minutes with only 13 men.

Jones has made a virtue of not criticising refereeing decisions but his self-imposed silence ended spectacularly when he accused O’Keeffe of assisting Wales.

“At the end we were 13 against 16 and that’s hard. When you have got a three-man advantage, you are going to do some damage. That’s what happened. We had a numerical disadvantage, so it was tough,” Jones said.

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Under current guidelines on high tackles, O’Keeffe was right to dismiss Tuilagi but Jones described the decision as “absolute rubbish” as part of a confused analysis of the tackle.

If Six Nations disciplinary chiefs decide action is needed it will be brought under the charge of bringing the game into disrepute, which could incur a warning, fine or stadium ban.

Another curious event was Marler’s fondling of Alun Wyn Jones, the Wales captain, as tempers flared between the teams early on in a logic-defying match that exposed England’s vulnerabilities once again.

At the time the incident appeared comical, but Jones made it clear afterwards that he wants it reviewed.

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World Rugby’s punishment for an offence it describes as “testicle grabbing or twisting or squeezing” ranges from a suspension of 12 to 24 weeks or more, and given Marler’s chequered history he could be facing a lengthy ban.

“There’s a lot of footage that has been shown. It seems like a lot of supporters saw what happened,” the Wales skipper said.

“It’s very frustrating that we talk a lot about TMOs and footage reviews, yet there doesn’t seem to be a lot of it happening.”

Examples of similar cases are rare, but in 2016 London Irish lock George Robson received a six-week suspension for the same offence.

Six Nations organisers have until 48 hours after Saturday’s match ended to issue any citings.

With England’s final match against Italy being postponed due to coronavirus, any bans will impact on the players’ clubs.

WATCH: Eddie Jones and Owen Farrell spoke to the media following their sides win against Wales at Twickenham.

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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