Alun Wyn Jones calls on World Rugby to act over Joe Marler's testicles grab
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones says he hopes World Rugby review a first-half incident that saw his testicles grabbed by England prop Joe Marler during a feisty Guinness Six Nations clash at Twickenham.
Harlequins forward Marler, who has a chequered disciplinary history, escaped sanction following a first-half incident that went unnoticed by the match officials.
But it is likely to be looked at by the match citing commissioner, which could leave Marler in disciplinary trouble.
World Rugby’s punishment for what they term “testicle grabbing or twisting or squeezing” ranges from a suspension of 12 weeks to 24 weeks or more.
Speaking at Wales’ post-match press conference, Jones said: “I’ve got 138 Tests for my country. If I react, I get a red card. It’s tough, isn’t it?
“Hopefully World Rugby have a look at it. Joe’s a good bloke, lots of things happen on a rugby field.
“It’s difficult as a captain these days because you can’t speak to a ref about anything, it feels.
“I look at the touch judge. Obviously he didn’t see what happened, and that’s fine.
“There’s a lot of footage that has been shown. It seems like a lot of supporters saw what happened.
“It’s very frustrating that we talk a lot about TMOs (television match officials) and footage reviews, yet there doesn’t seem to be a lot of it happening.”
Jones added that he shook hands with Marler after the game.
Marler is absolutely conkers! pic.twitter.com/af8zhvfBHh
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 7, 2020
Wales’ 33-30 defeat was their third in a row during this season’s tournament, the first time that has happened in one Six Nations campaign since 2007.
Flanker Justin Tipuric scored two tries, while fly-half Dan Biggar also touched down as Wales capitalised on England finishing the match with 13 players on the field to outscore the hosts in the second-half.
But they remain without a Six Nations victory at Twickenham for eight years, despite scoring 30 points there for the first time.
PLAYER RATINGS
– @rhigarthjones 👩💻rates the Welsh players' performance #ENGvsWAL #GuinnessSixNations 🏴https://t.co/FE9MHIQj1e
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 7, 2020
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac said: “We’re looking to improve, obviously. But we are here to win Test matches and we haven’t done that in recent weeks.
“So we need to make sure that we have a very good look at the game and take the learnings from it.
“We’ve got a game against Scotland in seven days’ time and that is an important game for us to continue to build the way we want to play the game.”
Asked about a late red card for England centre Manu Tuilagi following a shoulder-led charge on Wales wing George North, Pivac added: “I thought it was the correct decision.”
On Wales’ injuries, he said: “Jake Ball has injured an AC joint. That looks like it will require surgery and will be about a 12-weeker.
5️⃣ players get an 8/10 #ENGvWAL #GuinnessSixNations 🏴🏴
https://t.co/duzAmDh5We— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 7, 2020
“There are a few boys knocked up. I think Leigh (Halfpenny) did very well to come out for the second-half. He’s got a massive gash on his knee, which has been stitched up.
“The positive thing was that we kept going. We built pressure in the right areas of the field in the last quarter of the game.
“That pressure turned into penalties and the constant infringements ended in a yellow card (for England prop Ellis Genge).
“Then there was the red card incident. We had to build that pressure for those things to happen and it was pleasing that we were able to do that.”
Press Association
Comments on RugbyPass
Titans of under-20s rugby …. Reporters tired verbiage akin to calling every player a “star” and any Fijian side as ”Flying”. The French English and Irish are the Titans of U20 rugby. Noone in the South is now. This tournament is however, good prep to regain titan status.
1 Go to commentsWill be humbling coming back and playing second fiddle to Dmac.
2 Go to commentsSounds like quite a bit of development has occurred regarding Mo’unga’s situation. Either NZR has stepped up their offer (big time) or RMo has had a reality check on what it will be like to be outside of the high performance environment of AB rugby. Maybe both. It reads like there are only a few remaining details to be sorted out before it is a done deal.
2 Go to commentsCurrently, a prop that has been substituted can go back on field if his original replacement gets injured. Can a red carded prop go back if his replacement gets injured, or will it be uncontested scrums?
12 Go to commentsWhat about a free kick from a scrum? Can you call another scrum? Or are they just giving straight penalties now?
29 Go to commentsLoved that comment by Andrew that the ‘water boys’ rule was changed in 2020 just to stymie the Boks!
29 Go to commentsOne of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
5 Go to commentsThe real deal.
5 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
21 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
12 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
12 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
29 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
1 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
5 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
29 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
29 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
5 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
29 Go to comments20 minute Red Card is untenable. If you don’t punish the whole team, coaches won’t be sufficently incentivised to pick players with, or coach better tackle technique.
12 Go to comments