Kevin Sinfield hopes Owen Farrell will not be vilified like David Beckham after the England fly-half miraculously avoided a Rugby World Cup suspension.
Farrell once again wound up the lightning rod for critique spanning the spectrum of defence to invective, after his red card for a high tackle on Wales flanker Taine Basham was rescinded.
Neutral disciplinary experts had anticipated a ban in the region of four weeks for Farrell, that would have seen the England captain miss two matches at the World Cup in France.
Instead, England’s team barrister Richard Smith KC pulled off another masterstroke in arguing to an independent disciplinary panel on Tuesday morning that Farrell’s high tackle was unavoidable.
The Six Nations-run disciplinary committee accepted the advancement that hooker Jamie George’s contact with Basham left Farrell committed and unable to pull out of head-high contact.
Farrell can return to play immediately, and therefore contest selection for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up clash against Ireland in Dublin.
The 31-year-old received a three-week ban for a head-high tackle in January, and went through World Rugby’s tackle school tutorial process.
Pressure group Progressive Rugby branded the disciplinary decision “astounding”, while Samoa’s Bristol flanker Steven Luatua – who will face England at the World Cup – tweeted “No ban? What a joke.”
No Ban? What a joke.
— Steven Luatua (@StevenLuatua) August 15, 2023
Whatever the reaction, Farrell will be free to start England’s World Cup opener against Argentina in Marseille on Saturday, September 9.
And England defence coach Sinfield hopes the rugby public will keep their views on the Saracens stalwart both in context – and check.
Beckham’s red card in the 1998 World Cup last-16 defeat by Argentina on penalties wound up with club supporters burning effigies of the Manchester United winger.
Sinfield vividly remembers that fallout, and while not putting Farrell in Beckham’s category, did urge for caution in appraising England’s rugby skipper.
Asked if criticism of the incident is worse because it is Farrell, Sinfield replied: “I think so. He’s England captain, he understands that it’s part of the territory.
“In any sport, if you’re England captain, the noise and the heat, the magnitude of it is bigger than it if were anyone else.
“I’ll go back a long, long time to the 98 World Cup when Beckham gets sent off. If it had been any other player, it probably wouldn’t have been the same.
“I’m not suggesting Owen is like Beckham at all, and Beckham wasn’t even England captain at that time.
“But there are certain players that get a lot of heat.
“I don’t think Owen overly puts himself out there. He’s a really good guy who wants to get better and wants to help the team. Some of it, I don’t understand.”
Farrell has been banned for 10 matches across three career suspensions for high tackles.
The combative Saracen is a committed and gritty defender, but England strongly refute any suggestions of the 108-cap playmaker having any kind of technical deficiency.
Sinfield runs England’s diligent program on lowering tackle height across the Test squad’s training regime.
The Leeds Rhinos great insisted Farrell will have made more than 2,000 tackles since his last ban, in January – with only one coming into question.
“What I can say is that I’ve seen a guy who has been incredibly diligent and works so hard at trying to get better in this area and I know he’s done similar work at Saracens having spoken to them,” said Sinfield.
“Guys have tried to hang him when it’s one poorly-timed tackle. I think we need to get some balance in this.
“It’s something we work on three times a week and in every session. We know the game’s changed and we fully support the laws that are in place.
“Owen is right on board and right on side with that but unfortunately mistakes happen.
“Since our last incident he’s probably been involved in about 2,000 tackles. I’ve overseen the vast majority of them as he’s been with us.
“He’s been exceptional. You’ve got to understand that Owen has played either code since he was seven and has worked on a technique for a period of time.
“Never has it been legal to hit somebody in the head. We all understand that.
“But the way those tackles are judged now and are jumped on by everybody is a little bit different from when Owen first started playing. We need to keep some balance and perspective within that.”
