England loosehead Marler to miss Six Nations start
Glasgow Warriors announced last night that lock forward Brian Alainu’uese is to appeal his three-week suspension for “charging” and a fresh hearing will be held today.
The New Zealand-born second row was given the ban by a Guinness Pro12 disciplinary panel last Wednesday night after he was cited for an alleged dangerous tackle in the previous Saturda’s 35-28 win at Treviso. No action was taken against the player by the match officials at the time.
The lock, who joined Glasgow from incoming coach Dave Rennie’s Waikato Chiefs in October, was red carded for a similar offence – breaching the rule that says a player “must not charge into a ruck or maul without the use of arms, or without grasping a player” – against Ospreys in November and was given a one-week ban on that occasion.
The panel’s statement last week said: “While considering that the severity on this occasion that the offence merited a low-end entry point (two weeks), the panel took into account the player’s previous record for similar offences over the last two months.
“The player was reminded of his right to appeal.” England prop Joe Marler will miss the start of the Six Nations after suffering a fracture to his lower left leg.
Marler has been ruled out for at least a month with the injury and will be unavailable for the Championship opener against France on 4 February and the clash with Wales seven days later.
“Joe will undergo a period of rehabilitation and is expected to be fit to play again in four to five weeks,” his club Harlequins announced.
England must now complete much of their Grand Slam defence without their two first-choice loosehead props.
Mako Vunipola has a knee problem and will not be available until the end of February at best, with a visit to a specialist next week expected to set a more specific date. Now the second choice in the position has been added to England’s list of forward absentees, and the best case scenario is that Marler, pictured, will be fit to face Italy on 26 February.
Flanker Chris Robshaw will miss the entire championship after shoulder surgery and number eight Billy Vunipola could also miss every match as he rehabilitates a knee issue.
A doubt hangs over James Haskell after his comeback for Wasps following seven months out with a toe injury lasted just 35 seconds on Sunday due to concussion, while captain Dylan Hartley must prove his fitness as he serves a six-week ban for striking.
In the second row, however, Joe Launchbury is poised to make his comeback from a calf injury for Wasps against Toulouse on Saturday and George Kruis is set to recover fromabrokencheekbone in time to face France. England head coach Eddie Jones had stated that Launchbury was a doubt for the start of the Six Nations, but the Wasps captain has two rounds of European action to prepare him to face Wales.
“The rehab has gone really well. As soon as I did it I was always really hopeful for this weekend,” Launchbury said.
Launchbury’s availability has grown in significance after Robshaw underwent shoulder surgery, a development that means Maro Itoje is likely to move to blindside flanker, with either Launchbury or Courtney Lawes partnering Kruis at lock.
Launchbury backed Itoje to succeed if asked to make his first Test start in the back row, but said Robshaw was a major loss to the team.
“Maro is talented enough and has the athleticism to play six, but there’s a whole host of players who can certainly play there,” he said.
“Eddie has spoken about Chris and his value to the team, but as players we have known his value for an extremely long time.
“He’s always the guy who is making a cover tackle in the corner or going the extra yard.”