Saracens 18-28 WaspsEngland captain sent off for high tackle on Charlie AtkinsonOwen Farrell has always trod a fine line with his tackling technique; now it threatens what is left of Saracens’ season. A red card on the hour for a high tackle on Charlie Atkinson, Wasps’ replacement fly-half, means the
England captain will almost certainly miss Saracens’ date in
Dublin in a fortnight.
Their European quarter-final against Leinster has long been their sole focus in this, the season the European champions were relegated from the Premiership for abuse of the salary cap. Such offences do not apply to European competition, but red cards do. Farrell’s tackle technique, sometimes low on the use of arms, has caught up with him.