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.
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