Owen Farrell has been cleared to play in England’s Six Nations opener against Scotland next month despite being handed a three-match ban for a dangerous tackle, but his availability may yet hinge on whether he is included by Steve Borthwick when the squad is first named on Monday.
In a judgment that again exposes the loopholes and flaws of the Rugby Football Union’s disciplinary system, Farrell was found guilty of a dangerous tackle on Gloucester’s Jack Clement in Saracens’ narrow victory last Friday and initially awarded a six-match mid-range ban. That was reduced to four matches on mitigation – he was not awarded the full amount due to a previous five-week suspension in September 2020 – and will be by a further match provided he attends World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme, unofficially known as “tackle school”.
