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England prop Sinckler cops lengthy ban for 'gouge'

Harlequins’ Kyle Sinckler (r).

England and Harlequins prop Kyle Sinckler has been banned for seven weeks following allegations of eye gouging were made against him during a Premiership clash with Northampton Saints.

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Michael Paterson claimed the 24-year-old made contact with his eye in the 49th minute of a 30-22 victory for Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.

After being cited on Sunday, Sinckler, who accepted the charge of contact with the eye, will now serve a suspension that rules him out of November internationals against Argentina and Australia, as well as Quins’ opening two Champions Cup fixtures against La Rochelle and Wasps.

“The panel heard evidence from the player as to his actions,” said RFU disciplinary panel chairman Dan White. “They found that it was an intentional action but that due to the absence of injury it merited a low end entry point.

“The player has not got a clear record because of a suspension in 2015 and so the panel could not give full mitigation.

“The player will therefore be suspended for seven weeks and is free to play again on the 21 November 2017.”

Sinckler played in all three Tests on the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand earlier this year.

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cw 6 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



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