Rugby World Cup 2019: England’s Piers Francis escapes ban for high tackle on Will Hooley

The centre is available to face Argentina after a disciplinary hearing decided his infringement only warranted a yellow card

England centre Piers Francis has escaped a Rugby World Cup ban after it was confirmed that his high tackle on United States full-back Will Hooley only warranted a yellow card as punishment.

At a disciplinary hearing in Tokyo on Sunday, Francis admitted that his tackle on Hooley – which came straight from the kick-off in England’s 45-7 victory over the USA last Thursday – was an act of foul play, yet challenged the perception that it warranted a red card.

A three man disciplinary panel consisting of Nigel Hampton QC, ex-Wallaby John Langford and former Scotland coach Frank Hadden, found that mitigating factors swayed the argument in Francis’s favour, and as a result he will be free for selection for England’s next Pool C match against Argentina next Saturday.

The panel found that while Francis had made contact with the head of Hooley, it was “indirect and minor contact” due to the American dipping just before contact, having his eye-sight of Hooley initially blocked and the initial point of contact being Francis’s own head on Hooley’s shoulder, before then hitting his head.

The incident is the first to be successfully argued on behalf of the player following a string of suspensions, which has seen Australia’s Reece Hodge, USA’s John Quill and Samoan pair Rey Lee-Lo and Motu Matu’u all received three-week suspensions for dangerous and high tackles.