JOE Marler, at times a cantankerous individual, is prone to the odd brain fade but his red card offence against Sale may prove to be particularly costly.
Not only for Harlequins, who were undoubtedly hampered by the prop’s dismissal, but also for England, with the Six Nations less than a month away.
On this occasion it is hard to defend Marler, even if Quins’ director of rugby John Kingston did try. When a ruck was formed in the middle of the field with 20 minutes remaining, the 53-cap international appeared to dip his shoulder into the head of the defenceless TJ Ioane.
Provocation was not a mitigating factor either so, when referee Matthew Carley brandished the red card, few were surprised.
Marler will discover his fate soon enough. Australia tighthead Sekope Kepu was banned for three weeks earlier in the season for a no-arms clearout against Scotland but Marler’s previous record may count against him, despite Kingston querying the severity of the incident.
Denne historien er fra January 07, 2018-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra January 07, 2018-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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England show who's No.1
ENGLAND women’s head coach John Mitchell says his side will take valuable lessons from the 24-12 win over world champions New Zealand as they build towards their WXV1 title defence.
Skivington: We're going to roll dice and go for it
THE Cherry and Whites are the enigmas of the Premiership.
Looking to go one step beyond this time around
NE small step is what it will take for Bath to go one better than last season and secure the Premiership for the first time, but it would be one of the biggest taken by the club in the professional era.
Four-try England make it 17 wins on the spin
ENGLAND women opened the Allianz Stadium era at HQ with a victory over New Zealand to make it 17 wins on the bounce before their WXV title defence.
Time for Borthwick to prove his worth
HONEYMOON periods are not set in stone and in my estimation Steve Borthwick’s ends this summer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still in good shape.
Barrington ready to power up the Mob
RICHARD Barrington has signed up to the Ampthill “Mob” reassured that he’ll still have a target on his back most weeks.
Skivington keen to build identity
GLOUCESTER won their first trophy for nine years last season and reached the Challenge Cup final, but when George Skivington went on holiday the day after the campaign ended the words in his head were never again.
Roebuck targets England success
WINNING a maiden England Test cap to top the best season of his career will not be enough for Sale winger Tom Roebuck.
Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving
TOBY Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
DORKING had to dig deep in another tight game between two old rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and result in doubt right up to the final whistle.
