Exeter wing Campbell Ridl banned following red card

Exeter Chiefs wing Campbell Ridl has been banned for two matches following his 20-minute red card against Bath in the Gallagher PREM on Friday.

The 20-year-old was dismissed by referee Luke Pearce within three minutes of the contest at the Rec for taking out Henry Arundell in the air.

Following a hearing this week, the RFU adjudged that the offence warranted a four-week ban, which was halved due to his clean disciplinary record.

The England U20 wing gave evidence, saying: “The Bath game had just started. Stephen Varney our scrum-half had kicked the ball into the air and both sides ran towards it.

“As the video shows I was looking up at the ball at all times as I ran towards it. As I started to jump I was aware of their player high up before me. Even then I did not realise how high up he was. I should have been more aware of what was happening around me and once I saw him jump stayed on my feet and tackled him when he came down. I caught him by the legs and he fell forward.

“I did not push him over but there was nothing I could do about the way he fell. He was allowed to play for a short while and then taken off for an HIA which I was pleased to see he passed… I spoke to Henry Arundell after the game to apologise and he said ‘no problem’.”

Ridl will now be unavailable for Exeter’s Challenge Cup fixtures with Stade Francais and Cardiff over the next two weeks.

Bath took advantage of Ridl’s absence, racing to a 26-0 nil before Dan John replaced him after 20 minutes. From there, Exeter clawed their way back to 26-26 before Arthur Green scored at the death to give the hosts the victory.