Rugby Star Owen Farrell Facing Six Nations Ban!

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Owen Farrell, the playmaker of Saracens, is facing potential disruption to his availability for the upcoming Six Nations campaign set to start on 4 February, after receiving a citing for a dangerous tackle he made on Jack Clement during their last-gasp victory over Gloucester last Friday.

Farrell will know his fate in the disciplinary hearing on Tuesday. This could be a huge problem for Steve Borthwick, who is beginning his first campaign as the England head coach, since Farrell is bound to be a vital part of his plans and a top contender for the captaincy.

The incident in question happened in the 75th minute of the game, with Farrell making direct contact with Clement’s head using his shoulder. It went unaccounted for at the time, only for Farrell to go on and kick the winning drop-goal shortly after. This left the Gloucester supporters feeling livid and believing that Farrell should not have been on the field at that very moment.

If Farrell is pronounced guilty, then he is predicted to face a mid-range ban of six weeks due to the nature of the offence. Although, the panel may show some leniency, it is unlikely that this will result in a 50% reduction of the ban. This would be in line with the five-week suspension Farrell received back in 2020 following his guilty finding for a top-end dangerous tackle made on Charlie Atkinson.

If his six-week ban is reduced to four, Farrell will be able to cut this by a further seven days by attending “tackle school” - a coaching intervention program executed by World Rugby. Still, this would not solve the issue of whether Farrell will be available for the Calcutta Cup or not.

If he ends up being banned for three matches, this would imply that he would have to miss out on Saracens’ upcoming Champions Cup double header against Lyon and Edinburgh as well as the Premiership fixture against Bristol on 28 January. With that said, any player named in Borthwick’s Six Nations squad on Monday will be unavailable at their respective clubs that weekend, meaning that if Farrell is picked by England, the Bristol game should not be counted in his suspension, and the third match he is supposed to miss should be the one against Scotland.

The most relatable precedent is the banning of Kyle Sinckler two years ago. On that occasion, the panel determined that Sinckler, an international player, should be handed a two-week suspension as the Six Nations squad had not been announced yet. His penalty involved missing out on Bristol’s game against Bath in the weekend prior to the Six Nations tournament, and England’s opener against Scotland. Fortunately, Sinckler was not present in Eddie Jones’ initial Six Nations squad, avoiding any controversy about him missing the Bath game for being in training with England.