England may find themselves deprived of as much as a third of their most formidable lineup as the Rugby World Cup commences in a mere two weeks.
#1. Owen Farrell
Farrell will miss England’s first two World Cup pool games after World Rugby successfully appealed against the decision to overturn his red card. The England captain’s four-game ban means he will miss the group matches against Argentina and Japan, with two warm-up fixtures also included.
Farrell became the first England player to receive a red card from rugby’s new ‘bunker’ review system when he made a high tackle on Taine Basham during England’s 19-17 win over Wales on 12 August.
The appeal committee found that, in their original hearing, the disciplinary committee should have considered Farrell’s attempt to wrap his opponent in the tackle.
Therefore the appeal committee determined that no mitigation could be made for the tackle, and the decision to overturn the red card was an error – which led them to ban Farrell.