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England star branded 'reckless' to miss All Blacks Tests

England bench is seen during the LipovitanD Challenge Cup match between Japan and England at National Stadium on June 22, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Koki Nagahama - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

England second row Charlie Ewels is set to miss his side’s series against the All Blacks after getting red-carded against Japan.

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Despite the 52-17 victory being in the bag, Ewels managed to get red-carded despite being on the field for just six minutes and having been sent off in his last international appearance for England.

Ewels becomes the first player ever to be red-carded in consecutive Test matches after he was given his marching by the match day referee.

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The Bath second-row will now almost certainly miss the upcoming internationals against the All Blacks through suspension after a dangerous clear-out on Michael Leitch.

The 28-year-old was making his return to the England jersey when he came off the bench against the Brave Blossoms in the 66th minute – earning his first cap since his red card against Ireland during the 2022 Six Nations.

With England on the attack in the 73rd minute, Ewels misjudged his clear-out at the breakdown as he came in from the side and hit his shoulder into Leitch’s knee taking the Japan captain to the ground.

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One fan wrote on X: “RIP Charlie Ewels’ international career. That should be a red. Brainless. Off feet, in at the side, straight into Leitch’s knee. Reckless at best, filthy at worst. Hope Leitch is ok.”

Another irate fan wrote: “That’s the end of Ewels’ tour, so needless and dangerous, Leitch was fortunate not to do a ligament because of it. Thought his inclusion was odd in the first place,” while another pointed out: “Incredibly dangerous, looked pretty intentional also. Feel bad for Leitch’s seasoned knees. Bit of a dog shot in all honesty. Hate seeing those. Needs a bit of sports psych to redirect that initial rush of blood. Certainly needs an international time out.”

It could be the end of the Ewels’ Test career. He has earned over 30 caps for England since his debut in 2016. Ewels plays as a lock for Bath, where he has made over 130 appearances since joining the senior squad in 2014. He captained England U20s to the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship final and has also featured for the Bulls.

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Comments

4 Comments
b
bit of a flanker 378 days ago

horrible challenge, reminded me of Darcy Swain v Tupaea 2 years ago and i think Ewels is England’s Swain. Good at club level but bang average international and very reckless discipline-wise. Hopefully do not see him in the jersey again

d
dk 378 days ago

You’ve perfectly described Swain too. Glad to see he missed Joe’s extended squad. This one looked even worse. Disgraceful attack on the knee.

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JW 1 hour ago
France push All Blacks to 80th minute in narrow Dunedin defeat

Haha that’s what rot is. It’s actually worse, it’s a gradual decline without even knowing it’s happening or where!


No, I don’t think I was displeased with the performance from memory. I thought Ireland were great (for a then Ireland performance) and got the lucky bounces/decisions, and that maybe Hansen was making some poor calls (Kaino, Julian etc).


But then we just keep getting Julian picked again and again. Then we hear how the buildup to the game was treated.


Oh yes, not bad. Little things a battler like NZ really can’t get wrong though. On the field it was really the evidence they just purely didn’t have the skills to beat a rush defence, but they rebounded well and might still have been the best team at the 2019 World Cup, all considered.


If you’re looking purely at results (and not the rot itself) that 2016 was better than anything wasn’t it. It was purely that a poor coach was given the job in 2020 that most would associate with a decline, but of course it wasn’t a decline, it was just a poor choice of process and selection of All Blacks coaching.


If we hadn’t of had those bad years, the world probably looks on last years results a completely different way and would still rate them the best side in the world (having done well away from home and got unlucky). Because they were made to look so bad previously though people are choosing to still see that. So I think there was a decline in the standards of how NZ rugby commanded itself that saw things like the coaches get stagnant and complacent, smug, back then, but I don’t think that necessarily aligns with what you’re trying to say about a decline.

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