NOW WILSON IN THE DOCK
Scot cited for catching Hughes in the face
THE acrimonious aftermath of England’s Calcutta Cup defeat took another twist last night as Scotland No 8 Ryan Wilson was cited for an on-field incident and further implicated in an off-field one.
Wilson will face a disciplinary hearing tomorrow over his actions in the 37th minute of the Murrayfield match, which Scotland won 25-13. He and opposite number Nathan Hughes were involved in a scuffle on the ground and as the pair clashed, Wilson reached up and dragged his fingers down Hughes’s face.
The incident was picked up by TV cameras and a citing duly came on a charge of ‘making contact with the eye area’, which is now distinct from actual contact with the eye, often referred to as gouging. If Wilson is found guilty, he would in theory face a minimum four-week ban, if it is considered to be a low-end offence, rising to 12 weeks or more for a top-end offence.
This disciplinary development came hours after Wilson’s provocative role in the pre-match tunnel skirmish at Murrayfield came to light with the emergence of new footage taken from close range. Initial eye-witness accounts suggested that he and Owen Farrell were the key protagonists, and the RFU were understood to be adamant that Farrell had not started the trouble.
The video clip which was circulating yesterday shows Wilson walking up the tunnel alongside George Ford, who has his head down, while the Scottish forward appears to be talking to him. Farrell evidently realises what is happening and shoves his way past other home players in order to intervene on behalf of his friend and team-mate.
Saracens’ Lions fly-half is seen pushing away Wilson, who eventually reacts by throwing out an arm in the direction of his opponent. Another Scotland player follows Farrell, seemingly intent on his own intervention, but all those involved then move out of shot. While details of the episode remain sketchy, sources have suggested that Wilson was attempting to unsettle Ford with aggressive verbals, prompting Farrell to step in.
At first, it was claimed that the confrontation would be subject to the normal citing process. However, Six Nations officials have since clarified that as it was an off-pitch incident, the two unions have been asked to explain what took place and the matter will be reviewed instead.
This was the process following complaints about France’s use of head injury assessments during their match against Ireland earlier this month. On that occasion, the investigation was relatively quick but last year it took the review group months to rule that the French had not been guilty of sharp practice in their use of substitutes against Wales in Paris.
As the Murrayfield tunnel clash has not led to citings, the prospects of action against individual players appears remote. At this stage, both the RFU and the Scottish Rugby Union have refused to comment about the unseemly but fleeting event. On Saturday night, players from both sides denied any knowledge of what happened, even those in close proximity.
Without the threat of any imminent proceedings against him, Farrell was named by Eddie Jones yesterday in a 27-man squad to begin preparations for the match with France in Paris on March 10. Bath flanker Sam Underhill was also included, having avoided any further action over his no-arms tackle which brought a yellow card in the defeat to Scotland.
Jones has recalled Wasps back Elliot Daly and another of England’s large Lions contingent, Harlequins tighthead Kyle Sinckler. Daly missed his club’s match last weekend with a calf injury but he will spend the next two days with the main contingent of 19 players in Oxford.
Owing to the impact of the storm forecast to wreak havoc this week, a further eight players are taking part in ‘mini regional camps’ at Leicester, the regular team HQ in Bagshot, Saracens and Wasps.
Dan Cole is the only England player who will train at Leicester and Joe Launchbury the only one who will train at Wasps, but the RFU confirmed that England staff will be on site at all the regional camps to provide support.