Steve Borthwick is facing a major headache with his talismanic captain expected to be banned for the start of tournament
Owen Farrell’s critics – and he has always had his fair share – will say it has been a matter of time but had Steve Borthwick made a list of scenarios to be avoided at all costs for this block of World Cup warm-up matches, a red card for his captain for a high tackle would have been top of it. Farrell is facing a ban at a disciplinary hearing that will almost certainly rule him out of the start of the World Cup. Mitigation will be limited given his previous and as he has already attended tackle school he cannot return. Make no mistake, this is a colossal headache for Borthwick.
The irony is that England’s late rally gives them something on which to hang their hats. This victory, the manner in which they kept their heads in the final 20 minutes, is a demonstrable sign of progress, for it was a problem that Eddie Jones tried and failed to solve. But this is a warm-up match, a pre‑season fixture in effect. That Farrell will miss England’s next two matches for his high tackle on Taine Basham and quite possibly their opening two World Cup pool games is little short of cataclysmic, given the way in which Borthwick has backed his fly-half and captain.
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