Owen Farrell has been cleared to face New Zealand on Saturday after escaping punishment for his controversial tackle in England’s dramatic victory over South Africa, handing Eddie Jones a major boost before his side’s long-awaited Twickenham showdown with the All Blacks.
World Rugby confirmed on Sunday night Farrell has not been cited for his tackle on André Esterhuizen in the dying moments of England’s 12-11 victory as it did not meet the red card threshold in the eyes of the citing commissioner, Keith Brown. Farrell has also escaped a citing commissioner’s warning – a sanction for offences deemed to be between a yellow and a red card.
At the time, the referee Angus Gardner did not consider the tackle worthy of a penalty – which would have given South Africa a shot at goal to win the match – after consulting the TMO but it has subsequently created huge debate with Farrell’s attempts to wrap his arms around Esterhuizen called into question.
South Africa were believed to be privately livid with Gardner’s decision but, while it was precisely the kind of upright tackle World Rugby are attempting to outlaw, the absence of any contact with Esterhuizen’s head has worked in Farrell’s favour as a citing is only made if the incident is deemed worthy of a red card. It is not incumbent on the citing commissioner to determine whether a penalty alone was merited or not.
It will come as a mighty relief to Jones who has hailed Farrell as England’s spiritual leader and who described his co-captain’s performance against South Africa as “outstanding”. Jones is convinced England can beat New Zealand in the two sides’ first meeting in four years on Saturday – “I thought we could beat the All Blacks back in 2016, nothing has changed” – but without Farrell their chances would have been drastically reduced.
Asked if the England squad share Jones’s belief they can beat the All Blacks, Farrell, who kicked the winning penalty against the Springboks, said: “Of course we do. Anyone can be beaten. I don’t think any team is unbeatable. They got beat not so long ago, didn’t they? We’ve got to make sure we concentrate on what we can do and I’m sure people will talk about all different things this week. We have got to make sure we get better and that shows on the pitch at the weekend.”
Ben Te’o revealed Farrell was nursing a hip injury when he made his match-winning intervention on Esterhuizen and was almost knocked out as a result of the collision but neither is likely to jeopardise England’s co-captain’s involvement on Saturday.
“Owen was intense. He really wanted it so bad,” said Te’o. “That shot at the end was a big shot. He was banged up, he banged his hip pretty hard and he was struggling to get through that but he soldiered through and wanted that game. He’s been great all week in his co-captaincy with Dylan, he’s thriving in the role. His whole life is rugby. The guy loves rugby. It’s all he’s about. He lives, breathes it, talks about it. Look at his dad [Andy Farrell]. Nothing else but rugby. He wants it bad and he wants to be successful. He puts in a lot of work.”
Jones on Sunday night named a 35-man squad to prepare to face the All Blacks with Tom Curry included despite needing crutches after hobbling off early in the second half against South Africa with an ankle injury. The Sale flanker is due to be further assessed this week. Courtney Lawes and Manu Tuilagi are also included and both are expected to play a part against New Zealand after missing out against the Springboks. The Harlequins centre Joe Marchant has also been called up.
‘Bring it on’: Eddie Jones ready for All Blacks after England win ‘arm wrestle’
‘Bring it on’: Eddie Jones ready for All Blacks after England win ‘arm wrestle’