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Owen Farrell cited for dangerous tackle at Kingsholm: Are the RFU still not taking head incidents seriously enough?

England captain Owen Farrell has been at the forefront of rugby controversy this week following a dangerous tackle he made to the head of Gloucester’s Jack Clement.

Saracens took on the Cherry and Whites at the Kingsholm on Friday night, in a last minute winning thriller.

Farrell, who won the game for his team with a drop goal, has since been bombarded with online backlash for a no arms tackle that he made, something that Farrell has been known to do throughout his career.

Farrell has now been cited for the hit and is awaiting his punishment, but questions have been asked as to why he remained on the pitch for the rest of the game, as well as why action hasn’t already been taken.

Just minutes after the incident that Farrell should’ve been shown a red card for, was when he made the drop goal that sealed the win for his side.

This was met by boos from the Gloucester home supporters, as well as accusing the away side of being regular cheaters as they shouted ‘Same old Saracens, always cheating’

It is unclear how significant a punishment will be given to the English fly half, but with the opener of the Six Nations just around the corner, he may miss England’s first fixture against Scotland on the 4th of February.

In March 2021 a new head contact process was created, to help determine whether an incident is deserving of a card, and if so what card the player should receive.

If we were to follow this process with the Farrell tackle on Clement, the card that should be given is a red. This is because head contact has occurred, foul play is involved and there is a high degree of danger.

Since Friday night, everyone in the rugby world from casual fan, to former professional and pundit has had their say on what punishment should’ve been given, as well as why the television match official (TMO) and referee should’ve taken time to look at and investigate the tackle.

Nigel Owens shared on twitter his knowledge, stating that it should’ve been investigated when the next restart happened.

Any significant head collisions are often met with incredible amounts of backlash in today’s modern game, after it has become more apparent in recent years just how dangerous they can be.

There are hundreds of former rugby players taking legal action against World Rugby after being diagnosed with neurological injuries such as dementia, that has likely been caused by their rugby career.

Some of the biggest names include former Welsh captain Ryan Jones who was diagnosed with early onset dementia in 2022 and England Rugby World Cup winner Steve Thompson who also has dementia.

Studies have also been published showing that rugby players are twice as likely to develop Alzheimers.

A culmination of all of this has led to the governing bodies to take a much tougher stance on concussions and other head injuries, to protect the players involved.

However, you do have to question whether or not they are taking it seriously enough given that Farrell continued playing for the remainder of the game.

The citing, that will take place on the 10th of January, will be a true reflection of just how important player welfare is to the RFU. The rugby world will be awaiting the news of the disciplinary action taken, in what could be a big blow for the England national team with the Six Nations just around the corner.

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