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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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Latest Comments
Agreed. Borthwick will have to write a new excuse book soon .
I have looked at the two world cup final teams from 2003 and 2020.
2003 team scored 187 tries between them in 389 caps
2020 team scored 113 tries between them in 473 caps. As you can see a huge disparity in scoring rate. Only Johnny May with 36 tries in 78 caps scored a higher amount of tries. Elliot Daly comes close but the rest are frankly very poor.
Farrell and Ford scored a pathetic 20 tries between them in a combined 210 caps.
There again , the 2003 team did have Wilko and Greenwood etc whereas 2020 team had Ford and Farrell .
So much people saying that Fords strength is of bringing others into the game .
Really. The figures totally disprove that notion .
It has been mentioned elsewhere that we have accepted mediocrity far too often and the figures would indicate that players are or have been picked far too often without performing .
Go to commentsNot disputing that NZ are ahead of Eng. Also not saying Eng are unlucky (though clearly the tone of the article is not that the ABs were unlucky but that they 'should have' won). Your team are looking great and are on the up. I just felt that Pundits have argued Eng 'should have' won the first test against the ABs, when it's more nuanced than that, and very fine margins determine results that Eng didn't get right. Same applies, therefore, to NZ and other nations. Ben Smith though doesn't seem to see it that way. To be clear: I'm not saying I agree with the 'should haves', but more that I take issue with the phrasing.
Good to see your respect for other nations is so strong! Proper rugby fan you are!!!
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