Why Henry Arundell is free for England selection despite his red card against Scotland
England wing Henry Arundell is available for this weekend.
England will have Henry Arundell available for selection for their Six Nations clash with Ireland after he avoided further punishment at a disciplinary hearing.
Arundell was issued with a red card against Scotland in his team’s Calcutta Cup defeat over the weekend, this after receiving two yellows as England fell to a 31-20 loss.
That handed the wing a nervy wait over whether he would be able to feature against Ireland at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham this Saturday, with a hearing set for Tuesday.
Available for selection
However, it has now been confirmed that the Bath and England speedster will face no further punishment and is available should boss Steve Borthwick wish to pick him.
“England (No.11) Henry Arundell received a red card (following the receipt of two yellow cards) for acts of foul play contrary to Law 9.4 and Law 9.17, respectively, in the men’s Six Nations Championship match between Scotland and England on Saturday, 14th February. An independent disciplinary committee (comprising Nigel Hampton KC, Ofisa Tonu’u and Donal Courtney) considered the matter,” read a statement from Six Nations Rugby.
“The player accepted that he had committed the acts of foul play that resulted in the showing of the two yellow cards, which led to the red card.
“The independent disciplinary committee upheld the red card but determined that, in the circumstances (including that the first yellow card had been issued for a ‘technical offence’, and that the second yellow card had been issued for a very different act of foul play), the sending off of the player had been a sufficient sanction, and no further sanction was appropriate. The player is now free to play.”
Arundell’s departure from the fixture at Murrayfield left England requiring a reshuffle as they had no recognised back three replacement on the bench, meaning fly-half Fin Smith had to come on at inside centre and Tommy Freeman shifted to the wing for the remainder of the fixture.
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Many expect Borthwick not to make the same bench mistake again and Marcus Smith to return to the match day 23 against Ireland as England look for an immediate response.
England currently sit in third position on the Six Nations table with five points to their name, with France setting the pace after two rounds with 10 points on the board.
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