Johnny Sexton, the captain of Ireland’s rugby team, has received a three-match suspension that will force him to sit out his country’s three warm-up matches for the World Cup.
The fixtures he will miss are against Italy, England, and Samoa. However, Sexton will be eligible to play in Ireland’s World Cup opener against Romania on September 9.
The disciplinary action was taken due to Sexton’s admission of misconduct towards match officials following Leinster’s defeat by La Rochelle in the Heineken Champions Cup final in May. The European Professional Club Rugby disciplinary committee determined that Sexton’s behavior during the incident was “confrontational, aggressive, and disrespectful” towards the match officials.
As a consequence of his actions, Sexton’s club, Leinster, has also received a suspended fine of £7,500. Both the club and Sexton have the option to appeal these decisions, with the deadline for appeals set for Wednesday at 16:00 BST.
Although Sexton missed the final due to an injury, he entered the pitch after the match, and it was during this time that he engaged in an exchange with referee Jaco Peyper, who is from South Africa, and other match officials.
To address the matter, Johnny Sexton appeared before an independent disciplinary panel, chaired by Christopher Quinlan KC, via a video conference call on Thursday. It is worth noting that Sexton plans to retire from professional rugby after the World Cup in France.
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Johnny Sexton has been labelled the ‘biggest cheat’ in rugby today
Fans have been ranking who they consider the dirtiest players in the game today. In some cases it seems unpopularity saw them picked while other stars have been named and shamed for their thuggish actions on the field.
#5. Owen Farrell (England)
Could it be anybody else to start? Farrell fits the label “our guy” better than most, meaning you love to hate him unless he’s in your squad. Then you’d go to the end’s of the earth to defend him.
The England captain, also known as ‘Shoulder boy’ for his high tackling, does himself no favours with his poor tackling technique.
Although he’s currently serving a two-match ban, the fact he often seems to get away with it doesn’t help either.
Owen Farrell facts:
The Saracens star went to school with England teammate George Ford
His education began in rugby league – he joined Wigan St Patricks at the age of eight
He became the youngest ever player to appear in English professional rugby, making his debut aged 17 and 11 days. This record was later beaten by schoolmate Ford
It’s well known that Owen is the son of Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. However, it’s less commonly know that his uncle Sean O’Loughlin is also a rugby league legend, winning 34 caps for Great Britain between 1993 and 2009
He was not at first registered as a Farrell, but took mum Colleen’s family name of O’Loughlin. The couple married in 1995, changing Owen’s surname to Farrell the following year.
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