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Video - First red card of the Rugby World Cup sees Owen Farrell floored
By Online Editors
The Rugby World Cup has its first red card after England star Owen Farrell was on the receiving end of a shoulder to the jaw in Kobe.
United States flanker John Quill was sent off in the 70th minute for a shoulder charge to the head of Farrell and now faces an early exit from the competition with a hefty ban likely for the back row.
The incident sparked a melee among the players that had referee Nic Berry shouting, "Hang on, hang on, don’t do anything silly."
Only after tempers cooled and the teams were separated did he review footage shown to him by the television match official.
Berry can be heard saying, "I’ll tell you what I'm seeing. Seven White has made no attempt to use the arm. It is a direct shoulder to the head, it’s dangerous, there is no mitigation so it is going to be a red card against White seven."
The Australian official then called over Quill. "The first thing is you have got your arm tucked. Your shoulder has made direct contact to the head of the player, so it's a red card."
The sending off came near the end of a contest where England got the job done with a 45-7 bonus point victory over the United States, even if they made heavy work of it at times.
With a four-day turnaround after their opening Pool C victory over Tonga, coach Eddie Jones rang the changes but was rewarded with seven tries in humid conditions at a packed Kobe Stadium.
Skipper George Ford, Billy Vunipola and Luke Cowan-Dickie scored tries before the break, with winger Joe Cokanasiga grabbing a brace and Ruaridh McConnochie and Lewis Ludlam also crossing in the second half.
The Americans never gave up and replacement Bryce Campbell finally got them on the scoreboard after the final siren.
WATCH: Ireland coach Joe Schmidt and captain Rory Best explain their line-up changes ahead of Saturday's match against Japan... Schmidt also responds to allegations that Ireland scrummage illegally
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I guess the other option would be to start ALB, he's looked good in the 12 so far when he starts and sets up those outside him. But that would mean putting the vice captain on the bench, which is unlikely. Another option would be to drop Reiko to the bench and play Proctor, though he's gone home so that's not going to happen either.
Both of those players just offer more of the soft distribution skills good centres learn from playing their careers there. Unfortunately that's what's lacking with the current combo.
Go to commentsWhatever let's see if this load of waffle is still valid in 2 years time. ABs will rise we have a lot of new talent coming through. The NPC was the highest standard for years. The game is changing to suit the fast pace we like to play. We get to play the Springboks more, including the franchises, which will make us better! Overall I am optimistic. I will add having watched the England game multiple times we made most of the play. England are an awesome physical team, but you can expect the All Blacks to get better and better at executing the chances. It could easily have been 5 tries to one instead of 3 to 1.
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