Quill 'shoulder charged' for three weeks
Flank John Quill has been banned for three matches and will likely miss the rest of the United States’ World Cup campaign, after he was sent off in his side’s Pool C match against England in Kobe on Thursday.
Quill was shown the first red card of the tournament by referee Nic Berry when his shoulder made contact with the head of England’s Owen Farrell in a no-arms tackle with about 10 minutes remaining in the match. The incident sparked a melee.
“The committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point, which was introduced in 2017 to – protect player welfare, deter high contact and prevent head injuries,” World Rugby said in a statement after the hearing.
“This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension.
“Having acknowledged Quill’s good character and conduct at the hearing, the committee reduced the six-week entry point by three weeks, resulting in a sanction of three weeks, which equates to three matches in the context of the Rugby World Cup.”
The United States is unlikely to advance to the knock-out stage with three tier-one teams – England, France and Argentina – also in the pool and only two places available for the quarterfinals.
The Eagles next face France in Fukuoka on October 2 before they meet Argentina on October 9 and finish the pool phase against fellow tier-two side Tonga on October 13.
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