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'We need people like him': Gatland's take on Owen Farrell's potential ban after red card
By Ben Smith
Wales head coach Warren Gatland said the right decision was made on Owen Farrell's red card but hoped that England's captain wouldn't spend too long on the sidelines.
Farrell faces the possibility of missing the entire pool stages of the Rugby World Cup if the six-week mid entry point is deemed necessary, which is for foul play resulting in head/neck contact.
His shot on Wales flanker Taine Basham was deemed to be shoulder to the head with “a high degree of danger” and “no mitigation” by the bunker.
Gatland, who has coached Farrell on many occasions as part of the British & Irish Lions, said the game 'needs' Farrell and hoped that he would not get a lengthy sentence.
"I thought it was the right decision on the day," Gatland said post-match.
"Hopefully for Owen's sake he doesn't get too long a ban because I think we need people like him in the game.
"He'll be a big loss for England if he does pick up a lengthy ban but given [his] previous I'm not too sure what's going to happen, but fingers crossed it's not too bad for him."
However, the Kiwi coach didn't know what would be a suitable sentence for him but asked for consistency from the judiciary.
"I don't know. We've seen so much inconsistency already in the last few weeks," Gatland said.
"I look back with the Lions where Dylan Hartley gets an 11-week ban for abusing the referee, so with everything all we are looking for is consistency."
Farrell's four-week ban in February for a similar tackle was reduced to two weeks after completing tackle school and good conduct.
England head coach Steve Borthwick refused to speculate on what kind of sentence would be handed out, and reiterated that he would wait until the facts are known and the disciplinary procedure plays out.
“The key word there is if (Farrell will be banned) and what we will do is we will wait and see and deal with facts as I know you would expect me to," he said.
"Deal with the facts of the situation. We will find the facts out very soon and we will deal with them."
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Latest Comments
Moriaty refused to play for wales also he’s injured, France’s is being coy about wales, North in the dark but Sam David and jerad are you joking their not good enough
Go to commentsI'll be happy to see Cudmore get his chance again, but I'm against revising history to make Cudmore look better by describing his tweets as "crass but not outrageous" and "stupid". He would've been fired from any international job for the stuff he tweeted. "Decolonize 9th place" during a time when bodies were being discovered under Residential Schools? Actively rooting for the defeat of your own union on the world stage?
Jamie, how about making an updated public apology paired with putting your hand up for the RC coaching job? Get the public on your side, show that you've grown, and show that you're mature enough to lead our NSMT. We know you're skilled and experienced enough, but you know that's not the issue here.
You say you've put your hand up and apologized, but the last time you apologized to the rugby community was when you tweeted "I'm sorry if I've offended anyone", which is the most obvious non-apology in the English language.
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