OWEN FARRELL will be available for the start of England’s Six Nations against Scotland on 4 February after receiving a four-match ban for a dangerous tackle.
Farrell faced a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday night after his shoulder made contact with the head of Jack Clement in the 75th minute of Saracens’ Gallagher Premiership victory over Gloucester on Friday.
Although the four-match suspension would prevent him from running out at Twickenham in Steve Borthwick’s first match in charge, it will be reduced to three games if he completes World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme.
By doing so, the England captain will be able to resume playing after Saracens’ Premiership clash with Bristol on 28 January.
However, if Farrell is picked in Borthwick’s squad for the Six Nations when it is announced on Monday, the panel will be forced to revise what constitutes the ‘meaningful’ fixtures that make up the ban.
Saracens’ outings against Lyon, Edinburgh, Bristol and Leicester have been identified as the relevant games with the Scotland clash omitted on the basis that England’s squad for the competition has yet to be picked.
Under normal circumstances, any player included in the Six Nations squad does not feature for their club the weekend before, so if Farrell is chosen by Borthwick on Monday the Bristol match theoretically no longer becomes relevant to the ban.
It raises the possibility that Farrell, who told the disciplinary panel that he would take the tackle technique coaching course, would be overlooked by England on Monday and play against Bristol, thereby making him available to face Scotland.
“Should those games be cancelled or rearranged, or should there be a change of circumstances, then it will be the responsibility of the parties to consider the position and to ensure that the sanction imposed by this panel remains meaningful,” the panel said in the judgement accompanying its verdict.
“If necessary, the player’s free-to-play date will be amended to ensure the sanction remains meaningful. That responsibility was made clear to the parties during the hearing.”
Meanwhile, Borthwick has been dealt another pre-Six Nations injury blow with Sale flanker Tom Curry set to miss England’s first two games.
Curry, who has won 45 caps and skippered England for the first time in last season’s Six Nations opener against Scotland, was hurt during Sale’s Gallagher Premiership victory over Harlequins on Sunday.
England head coach Borthwick is already without Exeter hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie for at least the start of the tournament after he suffered an ankle injury last weekend.
England kick off their campaign at home to Scotland on 4 February – Borthwick’s first game in charge – before hosting Italy eight days later.
Curry has excelled on the Test match stage since making his England debut in 2017, and he is one of the most efficient back-row operators in world rugby.
In terms of Sale’s immediate schedule, 24-year-old Curry will miss their Heineken Champions Cup encounters against Toulouse and Ulster.
