CHRIS FOY: Owen Farrell must pay the full price for his appalling act

There is no need for a witch-hunt, or mob outrage, or frenzied calls for an example to be made of Owen Farrell. But the laws must be applied and the punishment must be appropriate.

The England captain faces a disciplinary hearing by conference call on Tuesday evening, after being charged under World Rugby Law 9.13 for a dangerous tackle. This relates to Saturday’s incident at Allianz Park, when Farrell was sent off for an indefensible swinging arm to the head of teenage Wasps replacement Charlie Atkinson.

In theory, the minimum sanction that the fly-half can receive is a six-week ban, for what is deemed to be a mid-range offence. However, judicial panels can — ludicrously — reduce the recommended sentence by up to 50 per cent. Farrell has limited ‘previous’, having served just one, two-week ban in his career to date, so there is a strong chance that he may have his initial ban halved.

Saracens star Owen Farrell was sent off as the relegated side suffered a humbling defeat

The England international was given his marching orders for a high tackle on Charlie Atkinson

Furthermore, while suspensions are still officially classified by the number of weeks, in practice now they relate to a number of matches. Saracens play twice in the Premiership before their momentous Heineken European Cup quarter-final against Leinster in Dublin. Barring any legal trickery, there is no way that Farrell can hope to appear in that fixture.

That is because there is no question of guilt. The offender knows it. He knew it a split-second after his right arm made sickening contact with Atkinson’s head, as the ball-carrier was blind-sided and crudely flattened. Farrell lay with his hands raised, then with his head in his hands, before saying ‘I know, I know’ as referee Christophe Ridley told him his actions were unacceptable, as he reached for the red card. He knew it as he waited by the touchline to apologise to his groggy victim.

In the volatile court of social media opinion, an 80-90 per cent majority condemned Farrell, while a few claimed this was a fuss over nothing. But it is not nothing. It is far from nothing. If rugby is serious about eradicating the spectre of head injuries and concussions, there must be severe consequences for those who over-step the line.

The England captain’s dismissal took the attention off a notable win by a young Wasps side

Atkinson did not dip before he was hit. Farrell lined him up and simply aimed too high. He was fired up as his side chased the game and wanted to make a statement tackle. Of course he didn’t intend to strike the head, but intent is not a factor. He has been reprieved before and coaches have talked about working on his tackle technique, but this incident showed that he still loses control.

It was an appalling, wild, reckless act of aggression. Saracens and England need Farrell in his warrior mode to inspire them, but they also need him to keep his head and he didn’t on this occasion, so there have to be significant consequences.

As usual in these situations, the cynic imagines that a Pacific islander, Argentine or Georgian found guilty of such an offence would have the book thrown at them. So rugby’s judiciary – too often a laughing stock – is on trial tomorrow too. There must be uniformity of verdicts and no whiff of old establishment bias.

The verdict is unlikely to impact on England, but Saracens will suffer, at the end of a drawn-out season of so much suffering. 

Full credit to Exeter

Exeter have become a relentless machine. They have given up losing. The mental resilience of Rob Baxter’s Chiefs – as well as their squad depth – was showcased again in Friday’s win by their reserve line-up at Northampton. 

They left it late, but they found a way, as they invariably do. Exeter are 13 points clear at the top of the Premiership table and appear to be hell-bent on setting such towering standards that no-one would dare attach an asterisk next to a potential title success, just because Saracens were penalised out of the running. 

Credit too must go to Wasps’ outstanding 2nd XV as they beat the soon-to-be deposed champions. Their positive attitude was summed up by Ben Vellacott’s quick tap penalty with 40 minutes on the clock, when he could have just kicked the ball out, but instead earned another penalty.. And the handling by some of the visiting forwards was masterful. Lee Blackett deserves huge credit for how he has reignited the Coventry-based club, so rapidly. 

Rob Baxter’s Exeter Chiefs are in imperious form and fully deserve their Premiership lead

No home comforts for Harlequins 

Congratulations to Harlequins for all the hard work behind the scenes which allowed fans to return to The Stoop on Saturday – a sign of progress and tangible hope for all the leading clubs as they struggle with a collapse in revenue. 

Unfortunately for the London side, they were so emphatically put to the sword by Bath that some spectators left the stands before the end. Even after waiting six months to attend a fixture, they evidently couldn’t bear to watch the full, uncomfortable 80-minute show – and the novelty of having noisy support again didn’t help Quins avoid a brutal ordeal. 

Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Wasps and Sale all won ‘on the road’ over the weekend. With stands deserted, there is precious little home advantage, which may have an impact when it comes to the play-offs, if crowds are still not permitted by then.

Harlequins players were unable to rise to the occasion as fans returned to Twickenham Stoop

New Zealand trial match should become rugby blueprint

At a time when former players in these parts are again voicing concerns about the physical toll of the game, the North v South trial match in New Zealand offered a vision of what it should be all about. 

This was a high-intensity contest, but one founded on the Kiwi staples of supreme core skills, athletic ability, game-management nous under pressure and an adventurous streak. 

As a vivid spectacle, it was a triumph of creativity over sheer size and punishing power, which should serve as a blueprint for the sport. A way must be found to make it more about space and speed, and less about the sort of heavyweight, close-quarters warfare which leaves too many protagonists savagely damaged.

South players celebrate vicory after North v South New Zealand rugby match at Sky Stadium

Weekend round-up…

Best try: Harlequins’ last-gasp, long-range strike was a mere consolation, but a classy one, started and finished by James Lang, with slick inter-play by Joe Marchant, Martin Landajo and Mike Brown.

Best pass: Nemani Nadolo was hauled back near the Sale line at Welford Road, but the giant Tigers wing still delicately off-loaded to Freddie Steward like a waiter handling a tray of crystal glasses.

Hot shots keep firing: England wing Ruaridh McConnochie scored two more tries for Bath, at Quins, to take his re-start tally to five in five. Ollie Thorley struck again for Gloucester and has seven in four.

Ruaridh McConnochie caught the eye by scoring two more tries for Bath at Quins

Near miss: Bristol were denied a classic ‘try’ at Worcester as replays showed Henry Purdy’s toe in touch during the build-up, but Pat Lam was left ruefully applauding his side’s glorious audacity.

Best footwork: There wasn’t much good news for the hosts at Sixways but Worcester wing Noah Heward set up a try for Melani Nanai with a remarkably deft kick in tight space wide on the left.

Sour grapes: When Manu Tuilagi scored for Sale on his return to Welford Road, Leicester’s Twitter account stated: ‘Sale cross through their outside centre.’ At least they named him on their website.

Gallagher Premiership Team of the Week: L James (Sale); T O’Flaherty (Exeter), S Radradra (Bristol), RJ Van Rensburg (Sale), R McConnochie (Bath); J Gopperth (Wasps), B Vellacott (Wasps); B Obano (Bath), A Van der Merwe (Sale), W Stuart (Bath); E Stooke (Bath), T Cardall (Wasps); J Kirsten (Exeter), H Liebenberg (Leicester), T Curry (Sale).

Sale star Tom Curry features in my team of the week after another accomplished display

Last Word 

Rugby’s broadcasting rights future is taking shape. Amazon are trying to gate-crash the market place by securing a deal to screen the Eight Nations tournament which is due to take place this autumn. 

Like it or not – and many won’t – with CVC now pulling strings in corridors of power worldwide, this is the way ahead. With union and club bank accounts worryingly empty, the highest bidders will always be preferred, no matter what the cost in terms of mass exposure. 

Vital, short-term gain will be put ahead of long-term well-being. The sport is niche enough already, but there is now a danger that public awareness levels will plummet, unless the annual Six Nations championship is at least partly kept on terrestrial television, which must be in doubt. 

Amazon would surely provide a thoroughly professional, insightful, glossy, well-resourced service, but there is no escaping the fact that the subscription model will slash audience numbers, while rugby is paying lip-service to the notion of global expansion.