Farrell free to face All Blacks as tackle goes unpunished

OWEN FARRELL has been cleared to face the All Blacks after World Rugby confirmed that no citings had been made from England’s narrow victory over South Africa on Saturday.

The fly-half faced a nervous wait following the 12-11 win at Twickenham, and even admitted to being nervous as referee Angus Gardner reviewed his final-play tackle on South Africa replacement Andre Esterhuizen for a suspected shoulder charge.

“Whenever anybody goes to the big screen and goes to the TMO and slows it down like they did then of course I was worried but thankfully it went our way,” Farrell said. “It was a pretty big collision. It was tough to get my arms around him.”

Farrell insisted that he attempted to wrap his arms around the bulky figure of Esterhuizen, adding that he always tries to in response to recent criticism of his tackling technique.

It was not the first time that the pair collided, either, with Esterhuizen flattening Farrell midway through the second half with a tackle that left the 26-year-old writhing in agony and limping once he got back to his feet.

“Yes, he got me,” Farrell noted. “It wasn’t payback. He lined me up from about 30 metres. I had to try and tackle him.”

As a result, Farrell will resume training today free to face New Zealand this Saturday in what will be the first meeting between the two sides since 2014 – and Eddie Jones’ first crack at his former rivals since taking the England job.

Jones named a 35-man squad last night with Harlequins centre Joe Marchant handed his first call-up as cover, with Manu Tuilagi needing assessment on a groin strain, while flanker Tom Curry will also be assessed after leaving Twickenham on crutches, having suffered an ankle injury. (© Indpendent News Services)