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Ryan Wilson's medical history critical in citing complaint not being upheld

Scotland flanker Ryan Wilson

Scottish Number 8 Ryan Wilson is free to play against Ireland after his citing for an incident with Nathan Hughes during the Calcutta Cup on the weekend was dismissed.

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The alleged foul play was not upheld at today’s hearing in London.

Wilson had been cited for an alleged act of foul play by the independent Citing Commissioner appointed by World Rugby at the NatWest 6 Nations match between Scotland and England on Saturday, namely contact with the eye area of an opponent.

Criticially it was Wilson’s medical records that played a significant part in the allegations against him being dismissed.

A statement reads: ‘The Disciplinary Committee accepted medical evidence adduced on the player’s behalf to the effect that, due to a pre-existing injury, two of his fingers (his fourth and little finger on his right hand) were involuntarily in a bent or hooked position.

“The Disciplinary Committee also considered that the contact with the eye area had been reckless (rather than intentional), light and fleeting, and had come about as a result of the player’s attempts to grab his opponent’s shirt during an off-the-ball scuffle with his opponent.

“After careful consideration, the Disciplinary Committee did not conclude that the foul play had warranted a red card, and the citing was not upheld. No sanction was imposed and the player is free to resume playing immediately.”

Wilson gave a brilliantly humourous response to being freed to play.

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Before the match started Wilson was also involved in an off-field incident with Owen Farrell. The Six Nations have finished their investigation into the incident and have concluded that no further action should be taken.

Farrell and Wilson appeared to become embroiled in some pushing and shoving as the two teams left the field following their pre-match warm-ups.

A statement provided to Omnisport on Sunday read: “Six Nations Rugby will be writing to the unions to request clarification on what happened in the tunnel.”

England coach Eddie Jones denied any knowledge of a scuffle, while Scotland captain John Barclay was quoted by the Guardian as saying: “I heard about it but I am always the first off the pitch after the warm-up and I was in the toilets.

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“It is one of those things that gets built up into something more than it was.

“It is a big game and a big rivalry. It was niggly and physical with a lot on the line.”

Scotland went on to beat England 25-13 to win the Calcutta Cup for the first time in 10 years and end their rivals’ hopes of claiming a Grand Slam.

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fl 1 hour ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Smith generally isn't well connected to his forward pods; doesn't do a great job of distributing to those around him; and has inferior positional and contestable kicking games than Ford and Fin.


When England have had success over the past few years, its been either through (i) defensive rugby backed up with smart tactical kicking or (ii) high possession attacking phase play based on quick ruck ball. George Ford was key to the implementation of (i) in the RWC, and in the 6N win over Wales, and to the implementation of (ii) in the 6N games against Ireland and France. Smith did great at (ii) when running at tired defenders at the end of the Ireland match, but has never successfully implemented that gameplan from the start of a test because he doesn't distribute or support his forwards enough to create consistent fast ball and build attacks over multiple phases. Instead, his introduction to the starting side has resulted in much more playmaking responsibilities being forced onto whoever plays 9. Alex Mitchell copes ok with that, but I think he looks better with a more involved playmaking 10 outside him, and it really isn't a gameplan that works for JVP or Spencer. As a result of that the outside backs and centres have barely touched the ball when Smith has been at 10.


This might not have been too much of a disaster, as England have seemed to be moving slightly towards the sort of attacking gameplan that France played under Labit and Quins play (I think this was especially their approach when they won the league a few years ago - but its still a part of their play now), which is based on kicking to create broken field rugby. This is (i) a sharp departure from the gameplans that have worked for England in the past few seasons; (ii) bears very little relation to the tactical approaches of the non-Quins players in the England team; and (iii) is an absolute disaster for the blitz defence, which is weak in transition. Unsurprisingly, it has coincided with a sharp decline in England's results.

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