England star avoids ban following ‘careful deliberation’ by independent disciplinary panel
England star has clarity on Autumn internationals following 'careful deliberation' disciplinary panel decision
Luke Cowan-Dickie has been cleared of wrongdoing by an independent disciplinary panel, following his 20-minute red card against Saracens on Saturday.
Cowan-Dickie was sent for an early bath during Sale’s disastrous outing, when he was deemed to have made contact with Saracens number eight, Tom Willis’ head. At the time, the visitors were within two scores of their hosts, but with the player advantage, Saracens were soon able to exploit the Sale defence.
After “careful deliberation,” the panel decided to overturn this sanction, ensuring that the 32-year-old will still be available for England’s autumn internationals.
Overturned red card after careful deliberation
A statement released by the RFU reads:
“The case of Luke Cowan-Dickie, Sale Sharks, was heard on papers by an independent panel chaired by Daniel Gore (Chair), Becky Essex and Tony Wheat.
“Luke Cowan-Dickie was shown a 20-minute red card for a dangerous tackle and contact with an opponent’s head, contrary to World Rugby Law 9.13, during a game against Saracens on Saturday 18th October.
“The panel convened yesterday evening to hear the case and, after careful deliberation, has decided to overturn the red card issued to Cowan-Dickie. The panel had the advantage of hearing oral testimony from both players involved in the incident. Additionally, they reviewed video footage from various angles and considered submissions from all parties concerned.
“Taking all this evidence into account, and without any criticism of the Match Official Team, the panel concluded that the red card should be overturned. As a result, Cowan-Dickie is free to play with immediate effect.
The full written judgment for this case will follow in due course.”
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Aerial dominance from Caluori
The biggest news of the game wasn’t the sending off, however. It was the starting debut of the mightily impressive Noah Caluori, who took all the headlines after scoring a remarkable five tries in the match.
Speaking after the game, Caluori said: “I’ll probably watch it back and think, how did this happen? But I just want to take the opportunities that I get given, and make the most out of them.”
Speaking about his dominance in the air, Caluori humbly paid credit to his coaches, saying that they’re “making me put in the work each day to make it my superpower and keep on building on it,” admitting that he “works on it every day, so I can do stuff like this today.”
Asked about his emerging winger, Saracens boss Mark McCall praised his youthful excellence, but warned against putting too much pressure on the young man.
“Noah has got this special ability in the air. We said that at the start of the season, but he’s as good as anyone we’ve seen in that particular aspect. But he’s working hard at other aspects of his game, which he knows he needs to improve. And hopefully everybody understands that he’s a very young player, and let’s allow him to grow into a great player in the right way.”
It’s been quite the step up for the young winger, after performing for Championship side Ampthill just a week prior.
“He went to Ampthill, rolled his sleeves up, and, according to the coaches, he was brilliant in their training week,” said McCall.
“I went up and watched him play the game on the Saturday, and he got stuck in every aspect. So I was proud of how he handled that, and he did enough in that game for me to think that he was the right person for this game.”
Caluori has since been called up to the England squad as a development player, highlighting the very real promise that this young lad shows.