Written judgment reveals what Owen Farrell said in his defence at his hearing
The RFU have published the ten-page short-form written judgment regarding the five-match ban handed down to England captain Owen Farrell following his red-carded tackle last weekend on Wasps teenager Charlie Atkinson. There has been much commentary following Tuesday night’s disciplinary hearing over how the initially proposed ten-match entry point punishment was reduced to five when off-field character mitigations were taken into account.
That reduction has left Farrell free to resume playing from October 5, making him available to feature in the Champions Cup final should defending champions Saracens qualify and then link up with the England squad ahead of their October 25 season resumption when they face the Barbarians at Twickenham, a game that will be followed by five Test matches.
Speaking in his defence at the hearing that was held virtually, the RFU’s written judgment – which was published on Friday – details how Farrell told the panel he was 28 years of age, had 201 Premiership games for Saracens, 83 England caps, 4 Tests for the British and Irish Lions and was also the current England captain.
Explaining the mechanics of his high tackle on Atkinson which resulted in his 61st minute Allianz Park red card, Farrell said he kicked the ball and intended to chase the Wasps youngster and tackle him from the side. He claimed he could see Atkinson was a bit hesitant and he thought he could get to him, adding how he was aiming for his arm below the shoulder in the hope of simultaneously possibly dislodging the ball.
“I was expecting to hit him between his shoulder and arm,” said Farrell to the panel, explaining that he had lunged at the middle of Atkinson’s arm in the hope of dislodging the ball as he tackled and as he did so his head went to the right-hand side of Atkinson.
He faced a 10-game ban before off-field mitigation factors were taken into accounthttps://t.co/lz6AUdyenw
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 8, 2020
Farrell admitted he did not appreciate Atkinson’s slight change of direction given the pace he was running and accepted he did not control his contact with his opponent as he should have done. The judgment continued: “He [Farrell] did not set out to tackle high. He was unaware that Atkinson dipped slightly as he checked. On contact, he knew that he had gone over the shoulder and that the contact had gone wrong.
“He apologised on the field. After he was dismissed, he waited at the side of the pitch for Atkinson, apologised to him and again in the clubhouse. He was gutted that he had caused the injury. He had not stopped thinking about it and was very disappointed in himself. He never ever thought he would get a red card as he had much pride and energy in setting high standards for himself. He said what he had done set a bad example.”
To help convince the panel to apply the full mitigation to the punishment they intended to give to Farrell, the England skipper’s representative Richard Smith referred to how Paul Gabrillagues of France had successfully appealed the six-week ban handed down to him last year prior to the World Cup and got it halved to three.
Considering the evidence, the panel deemed the Farrell tackle to be reckless. “This was a badly executed tackle, committed at high speed which resulted in the removal of Atkinson from the field of play.”
The judgment then outlined how they reached the decision to apply a 50 per cent reduction to the initially suggested ten-game ban. “The panel considered Smith’s submissions relating to mitigation very carefully and determined that having taken into account paragraphs 71-75 of the Gabrillagues appeal decision and our other findings, a 50 per cent reduction was justified.
“Again it is not just a matter of arithmetics and a tick box exercise. The player’s disciplinary record is not perfect. However, the only matter on his record is a two-week ban from four-and-a-half years ago when he was 24.
“The regulations do not refer to a time when a previous sanction may be disregarded for mitigation purposes. There is an element of discretion. The panel concluded that such is the weight of other mitigating factors, including acknowledgement of culpability, obvious and genuine remorse and considerable (and exceptional) evidence as to the player’s good character that the two-week ban from four-and-a-half years ago should not prevent the player from receiving the maximum reduction by way of mitigation available.”
The full ten-page short-form written judgment is available here.
This outcome has ignited a firestorm ? https://t.co/zp9SuYVeo6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 9, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
I bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments