MARLER TO BE CITED OVER ALUN WYN GROIN GRAB
Plus: Wales v Scotland remains on... for now
JOE Marler has been cited by the Six Nations commissioner for grabbing Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones’ genitals in last Saturday’s match at Twickenham.
The England prop was caught by TV cameras smirking as he groped the Wales skipper between the legs.
The incident was missed by all officials, including the TMO, much to the dismay of legendary second row.
But citing commissioner Peter Ferguson has acted and Marler will go in front of Six Nations disciplinary chiefs in Dublin on Thursday.
According to the rules, the lowend entry point for grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals is a 12-week ban.
England team-mate Courtney Lawes has also been cited for a dangerous tackle on Jones in their 33-30 victory and will have his case heard
on Thursday in the Irish capital too.
A statement issued by the Six Nations, said: “Joe Marler has been cited for an alleged infringement of
Law 9.27 (A Player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship – Hair pulling or grabbing; Spitting at anyone; Grabbing,
twisting or squeezing the genitals (and/or breasts in the case of female players) during the Guinness Six Nations England v Wales match last Saturday.” On the Lawes citing they added: “The England No.6 Courtney Lawes has been cited for an alleged infringement of Law 9.13 (A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously.
“Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders) during the Guinness Six Nations England v Wales match last Saturday.”
England centre Manu Tuilagi was sent off late in the match for a dangerous tackle on Wales wing George North and the Leicester Tigers star is also set to have his hearing in Dublin on Thursday.
Meanwhile, England Under-20s full-back Freddie Steward has been cited for a dangerous tackle on opposite number Jacob Beetham in their defeat to Wales in Gloucester on Friday night and will have a disciplinary hearing in London today.
RHYS Webb will not need to be told that he wasn’t at his best when he returned to the international scene five weeks ago.
Very limited game time in Toulon and an acrimonious ending to his life in the south of France had left him rusty.
Errors at the back of rucks, getting caught in possession – was this the same Webb who left for European giants 18 months earlier?
You forced yourself to believe that
– because of the undeniable quality he has always possessed – that he just needed a little game time.
Heads were turned when Gareth Davies was dropped from the Wales squad for the trip to Twickenham, with Webb taking his place on the bench. Tomos Williams was given a start at the home of English rugby, a chance to put things right after a difficult day in Dublin. But, again, things didn’t go quite right for the Cardiff Blues livewire.
Question marks remain over his game management and again he missed a tackle that led to a try, this time Anthony Watson’s. Williams was called to the sidelines after 45 minutes. Usually a sign that the boss is not happy. On went Webb with Wales trailing 23-16.
“From our point of view – and we talked about it at half time – I think we played a little bit too much rugby,” said Wales boss Wayne Pivac.
“It’s about getting the balance right of where we play and when we play with the ball.
“I don’t think we judged that and our game management wasn’t at its best in the first half.”
The control and the game management that Pivac is talking about comes from your scrum-half. No player touches the ball more than the No.9s. They set the tempo and they dictate – along with the fly-half – where the game is played.
Just 10 minutes into his contributions, it was trademark Webb.
He identified space close to the ruck and sniped through it to set Wales on their way, he burst towards halfway before feeding Nick Tompkins, who then found Aaron Shingler.
The net result was 60 metres and some field position.
In the lead-up to Dan Biggar’s try in the 76th minute, he broke off the back of the scrum and just held off England’s defenders before feeding his fly-half.
That created indecision and gave Biggar the yard of space he needed to squeeze his way over the line.
Finally, there was the snipe down the blindside in the final play of the match before handing off Owen Farrell and throwing a lovely offload out the back of his hand to send Justin Tipuric over.
All these attacking moves caught the eye, but it was his management of the game that will please Pivac.
He brought that tactical nous – knowing when to play and knowing when to kick the ball away. Even when Wales were chasing the game, he was reluctant to force anything. If it had to be kicked, he kicked it. Then, of course, there is the scrum-half’s primary role: passing. The zip with which Webb fires the ball straight from the deck to his target is noticeable. Slick and accurate, he gets Wales moving.
In the 55th minute, Webb showed his game awareness as they were caught short in the backfield just outside their own 22.
Ben Youngs tried to dab a little kick in behind but it was beautifully read by the Welshman, who gathered the ball over his shoulder and then threw a calm offload to Liam Williams to get Wales back on the front foot. Defensively he was sound, too. He made an important one-onone tackle on his opposite number when Youngs found space in the Welsh defensive.
In the closing stages, at a scrum on the England line, he made the first contact with Tom Curry and held the No.8 up to earn a scrum for his team.
Shortly after, he was sending Biggar over for his try.
It was not flawless from Webb. There was the interception pass that he threw to George Kruis after Wales had lost momentum at the back of a messy ruck.
But, on the whole, he displayed enough control to prove that he can still be the general that Wales need.
If you’re going to play expansive, offloading rugby, you need a calm scrum-half who is going to know when to put his foot on it and slow things down.
Without that balance, chaos and confusion can reign. It’s important to note here that Webb faced tiring English defenders and was on the field when the hosts had 13 men.
Williams was on at a time when Wales were struggling to impose themselves on the game. However, when Webb found his rhythm, he was the better performer.
As he hugged and smiled with Tipuric after sending the openside flanker over for his second try, you remembered the relationships that Webb has across the side.
He has played so much rugby with the likes of Tipuric, Biggar and Taulupe
Faletau. They understand each others’ games and that can be invaluable. Webb brings the best of Gareth Davies and the best of Tomos Williams.
If he can get back to the fitness and sharpness that he possessed before his move abroad, then he can still contribute hugely to the cause.
Davies and Williams have failed to really kick on after both had such an impressive 2019 on the world stage.
Webb’s desire to make up for lost time is palpable. Give him the jersey that he craves for Scotland’s visit next week.