England’s Rugby World Cup plans were dealt a fresh blow yesterday when Billy Vunipola joined captain Owen Farrell in being banned for their tournament opener after receiving a three-week suspension for his red card in a warmup match against Ireland.
Vunipola was initially sent to the sin-bin for a dangerous tackle on Andrew Porter during Saturday’s 29-10 defeat in Dublin, but the offense was upgraded to a red by the bunker review system.
An independent disciplinary hearing reduced the entry-level ban of six weeks to three because of mitigating factors and Vunipola, the only No. 8 in England’s World Cup squad, would have another week removed if he attends World Rugby’s “tackle school.”
Photo: AP
The 30-year-old Saracens back-rower is now ruled out of England’s final warm-up fixture against Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday and their key tournament opener with Argentina in Marseille on Sept. 9.
Yesterday’s announcement by the Six Nations, which oversees disciplinary matters for some tournament warm-up games, came the morning after Farrell was given a four-match ban for his dangerous tackle on Wales flanker Taine Basham on Aug. 12.
Vunipola would be available for the Pool D match against Japan in Nice on Sept. 17, but fly-half Farrell would not be able to be selected by England coach Steve Borthwick until his side’s final group games in France against Chile and Samoa.
During a video hearing held late on Tuesday, Vunipola admitted that his shoulder-led tackle to the head of Porter was a red card offense.
That in turn triggered an automatic six-game ban.
A three-member panel, which included former Scotland coach Frank Hadden, found mitigation in Vunipola’s previously clean record, his immediate apology and the lack of aggravating factors, with the result that the ban was effectively cut in half.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946