Owen Farrell banned for first two Rugby World Cup matches

Owen Farrell will miss England’s first two Rugby World Cup matches after World Rugby appealed the decision to overturn his red card.

The England captain was sent off for a high tackle on Taine Basham during England’s 19-17 win over Wales earlier this month but an independent committee unanimously decided that it was not a red card.

A four-match ban will now be in place for Farrell, meaning that he will miss two warm-up games and the first two pool games at the Rugby World Cup.

The fly-half already missed England’s 29-10 loss against Ireland last weekend and will now be unavailable for their final warm-up test against Fiji, as well as World Cup matches against Argentina and Japan.

Farrell will return for England’s last two pool games against Chile and Samoa.

The 31-year-old has previously served bans in 2016 and 2020 for dangerous tackles while playing for Saracens, and took part in a coaching intervention earlier this year after receiving another ban.

Cover Photo: USO – Saracens – 20151213 – Owen Farrell 5” by Clément Bucco-Lechat is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .