Wood to miss England tour after Champions Cup play-off red card

Northampton Saints flanker Tom Wood will miss England’s tour to Argentina after being banned for six weeks following a red card received during Friday’s Champions Cup play-off victory over Stade Francais.

Wood was sent off in the 63rd minute of the 23-22 win for a stamp that made contact with the head of Stade full-back Djibril Camara, with the offence deemed to be at the top end of World Rugby’s criteria and carrying a potential suspension of 12 weeks to a year.

However, after an independent disciplinary committee selected 12 weeks as the appropriate entry point, Wood’s ban was reduced to six weeks based on his guilty plea, expression of remorse and good disciplinary record.

Both Wood and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) have the right to appeal the ban, which will see Wood absent for England’s Tests against Argentina on June 10 and 17.

England coach Eddie Jones had expressed pessimism at the weekend that he would have Wood at his disposal.

“He had an error of judgement,” the Australian said. “He did something silly, and now he pays the price. It is highly unlikely he will go on tour because he will be in strife.

“Whenever you make contact with someone’s head, you will be in trouble. Everyone knows the laws.

“He is a very disciplined, committed player, and it is out of character for him, but these things happen.”