Ex-Ireland international Alan Quinlan believes there will be a real backlash to the decision to overturn England captain Owen Farrell's red card against Wales.
During Saturday's 19-17 victory at Twickenham, Farrell was shown a yellow card for a shoulder-led tackle to the head of Taine Basham in the second half. However, the bunker review system upgraded the sanction to a red card.
Despite expectations that the England captain would receive a ban preventing his participation at the start of the World Cup, a disciplinary hearing reached a different conclusion. The offence was deemed worthy of a sin-binning only, overruling any potential ban.
The Six Nations, responsible for overseeing the warm-up fixtures, maintain a policy of not releasing written judgments. Nonetheless, there are growing calls for the independent panel's decision to be made public.
However, the Six Nations and World Rugby have the power to overturn the ruling, and they will both examine the report before making a decision.
Fans and pundits have reacted to the news and Quinlan has become the latest to offer his take on the situation.
š§ I'm struggling to see the 'sudden and significant change in direction' in Basham's carry from George's actions that would really result in Owen Farrell making a dangerous tackle here
He is launching from the start and making a bad tackle regardless.
A precedent has been set. pic.twitter.com/bBhCTJfEwTā Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) August 15, 2023
"Wow, I am pretty shocked. I think there will be a real backlash to this. I am sure he is very relieved, as is England. It is a total contradiction, with what the panel is saying, what the TMO was saying, and what the pictures are showing," Quinlan said.
Despite the outcome of the ruling, Quinlan does not believe that England's player is a 'dirty player' and believes that he has to be more careful going forward. The England star has already received a number of bans for similar incidents in the past. He believes that behaviours also need to change in World Rugby, or someone is going to get seriously hurt.
"But it is what it is. It is a boost for England. As I've said before, Owen isn't a dirty player, he is aggressive and physical, but he has got to be very careful going forward with the type of tackles he is putting in. He has to go much lower. The upright tackles have got to be eradicated from the game, and that's the whole reason they are being scrutinised so much.
"It has cropped up again. It is a real issue. It was really grim. This is a flaw in his game and will cause England a problem just at the time they need unity. Owen has never shirked away from physical challenges. It is the bloodline from his Dad, hard as nails.
"I am not sure why his technique has always been high and maybe it has come from the rugby league breeding and it is causing him problems. You have got to protect the players; their behaviour and techniques have got to change. It was very hard to mitigate against. He put in a heavy shot and made contact with the head. That just canāt happen."
Quinlan was speaking to LuckyBlock.com.
