BILLY VUNIPOLA’S DISCIPLINARY hearing has been set for tomorrow after his dismissal in Saturday’s 29-10 defeat to Ireland.
Fellow England World Cup doubt Owen Farrell’s appeal hearing is also on Tuesday.
Captain Farrell watched from the stands in Dublin as England slipped to a meek loss compounded by the second-half red card of Saracens team-mate Vunipola for ploughing into the head of Andrew Porter.
This morning’s statement on Vunipola reads:
“England Number 8, Billy Vunipola, will attend an independent disciplinary hearing after he received a red card for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.13 (A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.) in the Summer Nations Series match between Ireland and England on Saturday 19th August 2023.
“The player will attend a hearing via video conference before an independent Judicial Committee consisting of Roddy Dunlop KC – Chairman (Scotland), joined by former international coach Frank Hadden (Scotland) and former international Jamie Corsi (Wales).
“The hearing will take place on Tuesday evening, on the 22nd August 2023.”
Farrell was free to feature in Saturday’s warm-up game but was ultimately left out following World Rugby’s appeal against the decision to overturn the red card he received in last weekend’s win over Wales.
With England’s World Cup opener against Argentina on 9 September fast approaching, Steve Borthwick faces potentially being without two of his key men through suspension for the start of the tournament in France.
The head coach was tight-lipped on Vunipola’s tackle, but is eager for matters to be concluded quickly on the back of the disruption already caused by the ongoing Farrell saga.
“I’m not going to comment upon the incident specifically because it goes into a disciplinary process this coming week,” said Borthwick after the game.
“Probably as every England fan, I feel disappointment in the game today and I said beforehand we want 15 players on the pitch for 80 minutes of every game.
“You’re playing the number one ranked side in the world in their stadium and to go to 14 men it becomes a very difficult task at that point in time
“Hopefully we will find a conclusion on both matters this week and it won’t go into another week. Once I have all the facts, I will deal with them.
“We talked about the way this Test week was disrupted (by the Farrell situation) and I need to adapt throughout the week. It’s another challenge that’s been thrown at us.”
- Additional reporting by Press Association
