Farrell fall-out: 'It is just one bad tackle in 2,000 attempts'
REACTION: Kevin Sinfield has vituperated the critics of England captain Owen Farrell in the wake of the surprise ruling in his disciplinary hearing.
Farrell was cleared to play at the World Cup after his red card in last weekend’s (19-17) World Cup warm-up win over Wales was rescinded at a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday.
This week’s bombshell comes after Farrell was banned as recently as January for a high tackle on Gloucester’s Jack Clement and was also suspended in 2016 and 2020 for the same offence.
However, the England defence coach, Sinfield, insists those challenges are anomalies.
“I know how hard Owen is working on his tackle technique and I know what he has done through the Six Nations, and with Saracens,” Sinfield said in reaction to the public outcry as a result of a ruling that left most pundits dumbfounded.
“This is a guy who wants to improve and get better.
“He has made one mistake. ”
“Players are human.
“Owen has worked incredibly hard.
“Since our last incident [in January], he has probably been involved in about 2,000 tackles.
“I have overseen the vast majority of them as he has been with us.
“He has been exceptional.
“Referees get things wrong, we all get things wrong in this room, we know that, and Owen is human.
“It may happen again and if it does I would ask that it is judged fairly.
“This is probably one in 2,000 tackles he has got wrong.”
(Article continues below video of #THAT tackle …)
Farrell was facing a potential six-week ban that would have ruled him out of the start of next month’s World Cup after he was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Taine Basham last Saturday.
However, an all-Australian disciplinary panel ruled that the Foul Play Review Officer “was wrong“, on the balance of probabilities, to upgrade the yellow card issued to the player to a red card.
The mid-range sanction for a dangerous tackle is six games and, given Farrell had received a three-match ban for the same offence in January, on top of five matches in 2020 and two in 2016, it was expected he would not be treated leniently in the disciplinary process.
Farrell admitted to the panel that his shoulder-led tackle to the head of Basham, who as a result failed a Head Injury Assessment, was illegal but worthy of only 10 minutes in the sin-bin.
But the video hearing decided that a “late change in dynamics” due to Jamie George’s involvement in the contact area “brought about a sudden and significant change in direction from the ball carrier“.
The new ‘bunker’ review system was called into action as on-field referee Nika Amashukeli could not decide if Farrell’s tackle on Basham warranted a straight red card.
But in coming to its verdict, the panel claimed no criticism of the foul play review officer was being made given the time in which he had to review the incident and make a decision.
“Unlike the foul play review officer, the committee had the luxury of time to deliberate and consider, in private, the incident and the proper application of the head contact process,” the panel said.
Farrell, 31, has endured repeated criticism for his aggressive tackling style, with his most recent suspension coming after an illegal challenge on Gloucester’s Jack Clement in January.
That ban was reduced from four to three games after the England fly-half completed tackle school, enabling him to face Scotland in the Six Nations opener.
Farrell’s latest escape ensures he will be available for England’s World Cup warm-up fixtures against Ireland on Saturday and Fiji on August 26.
Steve Borthwick’s side launch their group campaign against Argentina in Marseille on September 9.
* Additional resources: AFP & PA
