'It will now be trial by jury on social media... and it's wrong'
Friday night’s controversy about Saracens No10 Owen Farrell made for riveting live TV viewing on BT Sport as former England internationals Austin Healey and Lawrence Dallaglio were left bemused by referee Karl Dickson’s decision not to review the potential red card tackle.
There was 74:22 gone on the Gallagher Premiership clock when the right shoulder of recent England skipper Farrell collided with the head of the ball-carrying Jack Clement on the Gloucester ten-metre line.
After the ball carrier went to ground, the play was only stopped six phases later by the referee with the ball having gone into touch inside the Saracens 22 with 76:18 now on the clock.
With Farrell going down injured for some treatment, the stoppage allowed BT to show a replay of the Saracens skipper’s tackle on Clement and it was only after this piece of footage was broadcast that TMO Claire Hodnett alerted referee Karl Dickson to what had taken place. Here is how the audio unfolded on TV:
Healey: “How have they not looked at that?”
We probably haven't heard the last of this one ?#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/7DIsJiwCp8
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) January 6, 2023
Dallaglio: “Well, I think they will. They have to.”
Healey: “They have to look at that.”
Hodnett: “Karl, foul play by Owen Farrell.”
Dickson: “Is it in the same phase of play? If you are not sure it is in the same phase of play we can’t look at that. If it is in the same phase of play we can look at it. If it’s not we can’t.”
Hodnett: “It was back on the Gloucester 22.”
Dickson: “Was it in the same phase of play? If you can’t say we are going to play on.
Hodnett: I can’t tell you definitely.”
With play allowed to restart without any review of the suggested foul play, the match eventually culminated with Farrell landing the drop goal winner to seal Saracens’ 19-16 win. However, the post-match TV debate insisted the England out-half should not have been on the pitch to score the winning points and he now faces a likely citing and a ban that could threaten his availability for the opening match of the Six Nations versus Scotland on February 4.
Healey: “He will be cited, it’s a definite red card. That type of tackle we are trying to eradicate from the game. He wouldn’t have been on the field if it had been spotted earlier. It’s foul play, there is force. I don’t think there is much mitigation. There is not much dip in the tackle so for me, it’s a red card.”
?? INJURY TIME DROP GOAL WINNER ??
One of the best @premrugby games this season is settled by a late kick from @Saracens captain Owen Farrell!#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/pVLegqI6tG
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) January 6, 2023
Dallaglio: “It is foul play, that is a red card. Where we need clarification – and I am embarrassed to say – is we don’t know whether you can go back for foul play after a number of phases and that is the problem. I thought with foul play it doesn’t matter how many phases happen.”
Healey: “When Hodnett called it in, Karl said it wasn’t in the same phase which I don’t think is entirely right. I’m sure that the officials will look at it, how they adjudicated on it.”
Dallaglio: “There will be a lot of controversy around this. An outstanding player, no doubt. He is all smiles but he may not be all smiles when James Hall, the citing commissioner, has another look at it and probably cites him.”
Healey: “My thoughts were… if there is a clear indication of foul play and it’s a red card I think you can go back… There are new directives now trying to keep the pace of the game up and the interruptions of the TMO slightly down. Maybe there is some confusion over that because for me that is something they should have gone back to.”
It was at this point in the broadcast, with Gloucester supporters in the background chanting ‘Same old Sarries, always cheating’, that the coverage broke away to an interview with George Skivington. The Gloucester coach opted not to comment directly on the Farrell incident but he instead referenced a sin-binning last week for his team which resulted in a two-game ban for Albert Tuisue as it was the No8’s third foul play yellow card this season.
Skivington: “Do you know what, I’m not allowed to comment on things like that but I do know we got a yellow card last week for something much lower level than that and frustrating probably is the word.”
It was when the broadcast now went back to the presenter Craig Doyle that a law clarification was provided, outlining that there was nothing to stop referee Dickson from reviewing the Farrell incident with his TMO as the play had not restarted since the ball went into touch.
Healey: “Hodnett got it absolutely right. As I said before, my belief was you could carry on playing and go back as many phases as you want until the game got started again. Claire called it in and Karl said was it in the last phase? She said no it wasn’t and he said well I can’t go back to it then, which was actually wrong.”
Dallaglio: “Had the game been restarted since it happened? No. It doesn’t matter how many phases, the game hadn’t been restarted. It was still in the same phase of play and really it should have been looked at. We all know what the outcome would have been and it might have been a better outcome for Owen Farrell and for the game because if he gets red-carded during the game, that is a sanction in itself and that carries a certain amount of weeks off.
“Now he is going to be cited for that because I am pretty sure the citing officer will have to step in and do something and it could be consequential not only for the individual who has been outstanding but also for England and the start of the Six Nations.”
"We wanted to fight and scrap for everything and we did that."@Saracens DOR Mark McCall was pleased with the determination shown by his team at Gloucester.#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/fZ5MGiFRH9
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) January 6, 2023
The coverage now switched to an interview with Saracens boss Mark McCall, who insisted he wasn’t aware Farrell had put in a tackle that could have been red-carded.
McCall: “That’s news to me, actually… What you have said to me is completely news to me as you can see from my reaction.”
The programme next reverted to the BT pundits again, who wrapped up the commentary on the Farrell controversy that had dominated their commentary on the Saracens win.
Healey: “It seems such a shame that we are talking about this so much after what was an absolutely brilliant game.”
Dallaglio: “Also, Owen Farrell is a player we all think incredibly highly of. We were all waxing lyrically about him last week. By not dealing with the situation during the game it will now be trial by jury on social media and there are a lot of not England fans that love to have an attack and have a go at Owen Farrell.
“If the referee sanctions him on the field that doesn’t happen. Now it hasn’t happened, you watch this space, you watch what will happen this week and Owen Farrell will end up getting worse off and it is wrong. The player is an outstanding player who has made a bad misjudgement in his tackle and we all do that.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
4 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
27 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
3 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
3 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
27 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
20 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
16 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
3 Go to commentsI wouldn't pay a cent for that loafer. He just stands around, waiting for play to come his way. He won't make the Wallabies.
3 Go to commentsGood bit of te reo maori Nic. Or is that Niko or Nikora? On the theme of trees the Oaks v Totara. Game plan would be key. I have one but it would cost you.
27 Go to comments> Shaun Edwards’ You should not have to score 30 points to win a game, as exciting as it is. This statement was surprising to me. It is nonsensical .I guess it is a defence coach speaking. But head coach, defence and attacking coaches all work together. They are inseparable. You score more than the opposition to win. It only needs to be one score. You score whatever the game demands, whatever the opposition demand. You defend whatever it takes. The attack coach needs to be able to clock up 30pts if need be.
27 Go to comments