Nathan Hughes’s hopes of featuring in England’s autumn internationals have suffered a further blow after a comment made on Twitter during his disciplinary hearing on Wednesday landed the Wasps No 8 in more hot water.
In another setback for both -England and Wasps, Dan Robson has been ruled out until the new year by injury, while doubts have also arisen over whether Joe Launchbury will be fit for the start of the November series.
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Hughes will learn his fate next week at a second hearing after the first – for punching Gloucester’s Lewis -Ludlow in the head – was postponed by the disciplinary panel because “an issue arose during the evening”. It is understood the issue in question is a tweet from Hughes, sent during the -hearing, which said: “What a joke” – -seemingly a criticism of the disciplinary proceedings.
He swiftly deleted it but after more than four hours’ deliberation the Rugby Football Union confirmed the delay in a statement and, as Hughes is suspended until the disciplinary process is complete, he is unavailable for Wasps’ Champions Cup match against Leinster today.
Hughes may face an additional charge for his comment and even if he does not, he is still facing the prospect of a six-week ban for punching Ludlow because any foul play which results in contact with the head means an automatic mid-range sanction. At the very least, his tweet would severely harm his chances of having any ban reduced for mitigation and it could result in a suspension being increased.
A six-week ban would likely rule Hughes out of England’s first three autumn internationals – against South Africa, New Zealand and Japan – but it could also mean he misses the fourth against Australia as well if Wasps are unable to successfully argue that their Premiership Rugby Cup fixture on 27 October should count towards any ban.
Hughes’s absence would be a blow for Eddie Jones, who is already without the injured Exeter No 8 Sam Simmonds for the autumn and it would place even greater importance on the fitness of Billy Vunipola, who completed his first 80 minutes of the -season last Saturday.
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Meanwhile, Wasps have confirmed that Robson will be sidelined for three months due to the ankle injury he suffered against Gloucester last weekend, ending any hopes of a first England cap this autumn. It is a bitter blow for the scrum-half, whose early-season form had caught Jones’s eye, having long been in his blind spot.
Launchbury is also absent from the Wasps side to face Leinster and has not played since suffering a knee injury on 16 September. On Monday, the Wasps director of rugby, Dai Young, was hopeful Launchbury would come through Tuesday’s training session and be fit to face Leinster but explained that if the lock experienced any adverse reaction he would most likely require surgery.
Young is at least boosted by the return of the New Zealanders Brad Shields and Lima Sopoaga as well as the South Africa international Willie le Roux. But to demonstrate the size of Wasps’ task in Dublin, Leinster have selected 14 Ireland internationals as well as the Kiwi flyer James Lowe, making nine changes from the side that beat Munster in the Pro14 last week and welcoming back Johnny Sexton at fly-half.
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Leinster’s ability to regularly rotate their side is often held up as a key reason for their success – and that of the Ireland national team – and Young concedes the central contracts system employed by the IRFU does have its benefits for Wasps’ opponents. In 2015‑16 there were five Premiership teams in the Champions Cup quarter‑finals but two seasons ago there were two and last term only Saracens made it through.
“It can be a factor and it is a factor, whether it is going to be a trend moving forward is something we’ll probably look at,” Young said. “Last season, with the salary cap being where it is, not moving, but players’ salaries going up, squads are going to get smaller. And the threat to the English teams is, if you get a couple of injuries to your quality players, are you going to have enough strength in depth to really compete? That’s what the future could hold. It is a benefit that you can rest some players, you can’t hide from that fact.”