Ex-England out-half makes a 'controversial' Farrell ban prediction
Former England No10 Andy Goode has given his prediction on the outcome of the disciplinary hearing that current talisman Owen Farrell faces on Tuesday night following his citing after last Friday’s Saracens win at Gloucester. Alleged foul play committed by the Autumn Nations Series England skipper late in the Gallagher Premiership match at Kingsholm went unpunished at the time as referee Karl Dickson opted not to review the footage brought to his attention by TMO Claire Hodnett.
Instead, Farrell was allowed to play on without sanction for his shoulder to the head of Gloucester’s Jack Clement and he went on to land the match-winning drop goal a few minutes later. The incident that took place inside the home team’s half ignited a lengthy post-match debate on BT Sport, though, with ex-England players Lawrence Dallaglio and Austin Healey both insisting that Farrell should have been red-carded.
It was 10:05am on Monday when the RFU confirmed that Farrell was being cited for the alleged dangerous tackle and his case will now be heard at 6:30pm on Tuesday by an independent disciplinary panel chaired by Philip Evans with Becky Essex and Mitch Read.
Ahead of that hearing, which places the availability of Farrell for the February 4 Guinness Six Nations opener versus Scotland in jeopardy, Goode, another former England international, has shared his thoughts on the Clement collision and has predicted that the low-end foul will only be punished by a two-week ban, freeing Farrell for selection to face the Scots.
Appearing on The Rugby Pod, the show he co-hosts with ex-Scotland lock Jim Hamilton, Goode said: “I’m going to be really clear on this – the referee Karl Dickson and the TMO Claire Hodnett have had an absolute stinker.
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“This goes back to World Rugby saying we want the game to be really fast and we don’t want TMOs to be involved as much. Well, tell Gloucester fans that because they rushed through the decision. I get what Karl Dickson said. He said had it [the Farrell tackle on Clement] been part of the last phase of play? What he meant was the last passage of play. Claire Hodnett then panics. She reacted off Austin Healey picking it up and going why hasn’t that been looked at that, you have to look at this. How the TMOs aren’t better at their jobs is beyond me.
“I’d love to have a go at being a shadow TMO for a match,” Goode continued. “I do it from home and sit there and when I’m watching it, I see things. Ex-players do. You see a hit that you know is borderline, why isn’t it being replayed and checked straight away and buzzed down?
“The Owen Farrell one, you know he is at the side of a ruck and is in an upright tackler so you should be watching for that and it’s a clear red card and I’ll be controversial here to everyone who thinks that he should be banned for a long, long time – it’s low end and here are the sanctions on it: low-end is two weeks, mid-range six weeks and then high-end is ten weeks in terms of dangerous tackle.
“Jack Clement got up and played on and it’s not necessarily about the impact that he [Farrell] has afterwards around the drop goal but for me, it’s a high shot, shoulder to head, there is a bit of force there, not a huge amount but enough to jolt him [Clement]. It’s 100 per cent a red card, he [Farrell] should have been sent off there and then had the TMO and the referee done their jobs properly.
“But when it comes to the disciplinary hearing, our podcast, we record it on Monday, it will be out Tuesday morning and the hearing is Tuesday evening – he [Farrell] is only going to get a two-week ban and people will look at that and go well, that is just the RFU looking after their own players. Well, I don’t think it is.
“The judicial committee is independent even though they are from the RFU so for me, being honest it is a two-week and a low-end entry point. It is going to ruffle feathers either way because if he gets six weeks and they reduce it to three so he can play against Scotland, everyone is going to go mad about that.
“And if they only give him two weeks and say it’s a lower-end entry point well, people will go mad about that as well and say he should have more. But without a shadow of a doubt, it should have been a red and I reckon he will get a two-week ban.”
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments