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England prospect Ted Hill has been banned following his red card
By Liam Heagney
England call-up Ted Hill can breathe a sigh of relief as his suspension for last Saturday's red card in the Worcester loss to Gloucester at Sixways hasn't made him unavailable for the Eddie Jones squad that is due to assemble in Jersey on the week of October 25 - provided he is picked again for national team duty.
The 22-year-old, who earned his second Test cap last July following a November 2018 debut, was included in the 45-strong squad chosen by Jones to a mini-England training camp in London at the start of last week.
It will be October 18 when the next England squad is announced. However, while Hill would be free to attend training in Jersey if selected, his chances to impress in the meantime will be hindered by him missing the Worcester Premiership matches versus Exeter, Leicester and Northampton through suspension.
Hill, who appeared at a virtually held disciplinary hearing on Tuesday night, was sent off by referee Andrew Jackson in the 75th minute of the match against Gloucester for a tip tackle on Lloyd Evans contrary to World Rugby law 9.18.
He accepted the charge and was given a three-match suspension by the panel comprising Mike Hamlin (chair) with Rob Vickerman and Martyn Wood. Hill is free to play again on October 25.
In the full written judgment into the incident, the assessment of seriousness section in the verdict noted: "Based upon our findings set out above this was not an intentional act. Indeed, it occurred as a result of a slightly unusual sequence of events. The player spontaneously acted recklessly by grabbing and lifting Evans' leg and raising his elbow, causing the Gloucester player to go above the horizontal. Had Hill not raised his left elbow and driven straight with his arms into Evans the offence would not have occurred."
A six-week entry point was determined for the incident but this was reduced. "The panel were satisfied that all mitigating factors were present and taking them into account and the nature of the offending, it was appropriate to permit 50 per cent reduction."
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i think Argentina v France could be a good game too, depending on which Argentina turns up. The most difficult to call is Scotland Australia.
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