England was handed two misconduct charges and Canadian captain Al Charron was carried off the field after a ferocious tackle as the Rugby World Cup showed its darker side on Wednesday.
Although Scotland flanker Martin Leslie had his 12-week suspension for kneeing an opponent reduced to eight, two Argentina stars were in the World Cup disciplinary dock for allegations of eye-gouging.
While the only action of the day saw Canada maintain its record of winning a match at every World Cup by beating Tonga 24-7, the biggest news was the disciplinary action announced against England.
PHOTO: AFP
Coach Clive Woodward, winger Dan Luger, fitness coach David Reddin and a lawyer will fly from Brisbane to Sydney as the English Rugby Football Union faces two misconduct charges. They arise out of having 16 players on the field at the end of their nailbiting 35-22 over Samoa in Melbourne on Sunday.
Luger ran onto the field with center Mike Tindall receiving treatment for an injury. When he made a tackle, South Africa referee Jonathan Kaplan noticed England had too many players on the field and sent him off. He had been on for barely 30 seconds.
One of the charges relates to whether England disregarded match official Brett Bowden's instruction to keep Luger waiting to go on. The other relates to Reddin who reportedly was involved in a heated disagreement with the fourth official, New Zealander Steve Walsh, after the final whistle.
Australian back Toutai Kefu, who has missed the World Cup because of injury, called on the RWC to strip England of the five points it gained from the victory. But the beaten Samoans have made no complaint.
Leslie gained a shorter ban when he appeared before an appeals panel but the Scots were still disappointed to have lost him for the championship.
Leslie, whose father Andy captained New Zealand 10 times, had been found guilty by a disciplinary panel last week of kneeing American center Jason Keyter in the head during Scotland's 39-15 victory in Brisbane.
Scotland appealed both the decision and the length of the ban and, after a four-hour hearing in downtown Sydney, it was reduced by a third. Full details of the appeal panel's decision are due to be announced today.
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