Owen Farrell

Owen Farrell availability for England's Six Nations opener remains uncertain after he was handed a three-match ban.

It could be avoided, however, if Borthwick omits Farrell from his squad, he misses the week’s training before 28 January and joins up with England at the start of the Scotland week. Although he was an international player the Six Nations squad had not yet been announced and the panel ruled his ban should apply to Bristol fixtures. In essence, the panel decided it was not their job to speculate on whether Farrell would be selected by England. If necessary, the player’s free to play date will be amended to ensure the sanction remains meaningful.” The panel’s written judgment read: “Should there be a change of circumstances, then it will be the responsibility of the parties to consider the position and to ensure that the sanction imposed by this panel remains meaningful. That was reduced to four matches on mitigation – he was not awarded the full amount due to a previous five-week suspension in September 2020 – and will be by a further match provided he attends World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme, unofficially known as “tackle school”.

The England captain will be able to resume playing after Saracens' Premiership clash with Bristol on 28 January.

This was reduced by two weeks due to the apology made to Clement, a strong reference from Saracens boss Mark McCall and his conduct. “If necessary, the player’s free-to-play date will be amended to ensure the sanction remains meaningful. [Farrell faced a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday night](/sport/rugby/rugby-union/owen-farrell-citing-england-six-nations-b2258557.html) after his shoulder made contact with the head of Jack Clement in the 75th minute of Saracens’ Gallagher Premiership victory over Gloucester on Friday.

Fly-half's availability could change if he is included in Steve Borthwick's first England squad on Monday.

Meaning that, even though incredibly unlikely that Farrell would be released to play for Saracens the week before the Six Nations - and therefore that game can count towards his ban - it can happen. Should Farrell be named in Steve Borthwick's squad, then the validity of that fixture would have to be reassessed. The RFU have confirmed that players can play for their clubs having been for part of the training week. A two-week ban for a dangerous tackle on Wasps' Dan Robson in 2016, however, was not, "predominantly due to its age", with the panel concluding because of the gap in time that "the player is not a repeat offender whose status warrants an increase in sanction for this reason". Farrell is eligible for World Rugby's Coach Intervention Programme having not previously participated, with the programme introduced in 2021. Once Farrell returned to the team bus and reviewed clips of the incident, he realised contact was made with the chin and contacted Clement to apologise. Farrell’s suspension was not the only headache for England head coach Borthwick on Wednesday. But you have to be very clear about what you are trying to achieve, how you are doing this, what the detail looks like. It was the second time this season a late Farrell strike had sunk Gloucester. Farrell was cited under World Rugby Law 9.13 for dangerous tackling, with the incident viewed as a red card-worthy offence by the citing commissioner. While the contact was picked up by the television match official, Claire Hodnett, the incident It states: “Should those games be cancelled or rearranged, or should there be a change of circumstances, then it will be the responsibility of the parties to consider the position and to ensure that the sanction imposed by this Panel remains meaningful.

Owen Farrell is free to face Scotland in the first week of this year's Six Nations after he was handed a four-week ban for his high tackle on Gloucester's ...

England captain Owen Farrell is handed a four-week ban after being cited for a high tackle on Gloucester flanker Jack Clement... This will be reduced to a three-week ban if the player completes the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme.’ An RFU disciplinary panel decided Farrell’s tackle on Clement was worthy of a short-term suspension in what will be a big sigh of relief for new England head coach Steve Borthwick.

Owen Farrell has been handed an England reprieve with the Six Nations approaching, despite being handed a ban for a dangerous tackle while playing for ...

I'd be staggered if Owen Farrell is unavailable for the first game of the Six Nations," he told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast. England are blessed with three top-quality fly-halves but George Ford has yet to return from long-term injury and Marcus Smith only starts his comeback this weekend. The Rugby Football Union disciplinary panel thought differently and handed him a suspension - though bizarrely it only took in club games. All of which means that it might be difficult for Steve Borthwick to name him in his tournament squad on Monday as in order to face Scotland on February 4 he will have to show clearly that he was available for the Bristol game a week earlier - and also make time to attend tackle school. “Should those games be cancelled or rearranged, or should there be a change of circumstances, then it will be the responsibility of the parties to consider the position and to ensure that the sanction imposed by this Panel remains meaningful.” “Both parties submitted, and the Panel agrees, that RFU Regulation 19.11.15 applies and the question as to whether forthcoming fixtures are meaningful can only be judged on the best information available at the time of the decision.

Farrell faced a disciplinary hearing after his shoulder made contact with the head of Jack Clement Saracens' victory over Gloucester on Friday.

“If necessary, the player’s free-to-play date will be amended to ensure the sanction remains meaningful. This was reduced by two weeks due to the apology made to Clement, a strong reference from Saracens boss Mark McCall and his conduct. However, England could circumvent this by saying it was their intention to release Farrell back to Saracens to play against Bristol.

The Saracens fly-half was cited for a high tackle on Gloucester backrower Jack Clement in the closing moments of his side's 19-16 win at Kingsholm which was ...

Farrell’s previous disciplinary record of high tackle meant the panel were unable to implement a 50 percent reduction in the ban, but crucially, in terms of England’s Six Nations ambitions, the suspension was reduced by two weeks. Farrell is like to be named captain once again. Gloucester’s camp and fans were left frustrated post match that Farrell should have been on the field to pull off the stunning 44m drop goal to win the match.