Tunnelgate New footage reveals Farrell defending Ford in bust-up
Wilson seen speaking to fly-half before fracas Daly and Sinckler earn recalls to England camp
Footage of the pre-match skirmish in the Murrayfield tunnel has emerged showing England centre Owen Farrell jostling Scotland forward Ryan Wilson as he runs to intervene between Wilson and England fly-half George Ford.
The Daily Telegraph understands words had been directed towards Ford by Wilson as the two walked side by side up the tunnel before kick-off, and that Farrell was coming to his team-mate’s defence. In a separate development, Wilson was last night cited for allegedly gouging Nathan Hughes and will face a disciplinary hearing tomorrow.
The new tunnel footage has been posted on social media but cuts out as Farrell barges through following the team warm-up. England scrum-half Danny Care admitted afterwards that the spark between Farrell and Wilson had “fired up the boys even more”, although head coach Eddie Jones said he was unaware of the incident. “If there was [an incident], we shouldn’t let that detract from a great Scotland victory,” Jones said after the game.
The Natwest Six Nations committee is to write to both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union, requesting their version of events and to ask of any issues they wanted to raise. That process is continuing and neither union would comment. The RFU management team will be reviewing the situation after taking eyewitness accounts.
It was believed in the aftermath that Farrell had been provoked, but this new evidence suggests that he was protecting his team-mate.
Match referee Nigel Owens has
no direct jurisdiction prior to kickoff, although he can comment in his match report. Six Nations organisers may have to review protocols for teams entering and leaving the field during the warm-up period.
Farrell will join fit-again Wasps wing Elliot Daly in a 27-man training squad named by England yesterday for a camp over the next few days as they prepare to face France.
The bulk of the squad will be based in Oxford, while eight others will undergo adapted conditioning programmes at various satellite sites, in order to get around the projected travel disruption caused by the Siberian weather due to hit today.
Daly’s return gives England greater selection options, along with providing a long-range goalkicking option. The Lions player has been sidelined since December following an ankle injury sustained against La Rochelle.
Daly started all three of England’s November Tests, scoring three tries, and offers great versatility, with centre his original position, while he is also an option at fullback. Daly had recovered from his ankle problem only to suffer a slight calf strain a couple of weeks ago, but can now push Jonny May and Anthony Watson for one of the starting spots out wide, along with Jack Nowell.
There was a possibility Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi might be recalled after scoring in the 28-20 win over Saracens on Sunday. Tuilagi has been working his way back to full match sharpness after a spate of career-threatening injuries.
Jones remarked on Saturday that Tuilagi would need “a couple of extra cylinders” to get him up to speed. Tuilagi last started a Test for England in June 2014 in New Zealand and has made only one appearance since Jones took charge, as a replacement in 2016 against Wales.
Harlequins tighthead Kyle Sinckler, who withdrew from the pre-six Nations camp with a hamstring strain, has also been recalled to provide competition for Exeter’s Harry Williams, who has been the replacement tighthead in all three matches for England so far behind established starter Dan Cole.
England have foreshortened this camp because of the weather issues, but will reconvene for training again at the weekend ahead of the match in Paris on Saturday week.