John Dennen
Sports activities journalist
Captain Courtney Lawes concedes self-discipline is a matter for England after Billy Vunipola is given a pink card throughout World Cup warm-up match; Vunipola’s sending-off follows Owen Farrell’s pink card incident and head coach Steve Borthwick admits England face ‘one other week of disruption’
Final Up to date: 19/08/23 8:41pm
Billy Vunipola was the second England participant to be red-carded in consecutive video games
One other key participant despatched off and one other pink card has haunted England’s preparations forward of the approaching Rugby World Cup.
Fly-half Owen Farrell is on the centre of an argument as World Rugby appeals his red card last week being overturned.
Now, throughout England’s 29-10 defeat in a warm-up match in opposition to Eire on Saturday, No 8 Billy Vunipola was additionally dismissed for launching his shoulder into Andrew Porter’s head.
England captain Courtney Lawes conceded self-discipline is a matter
Vunipola’s pink card implies that if he now will get a subsequent ban, as anticipated, he could possibly be a doubt for at the least among the Rugby World Cup.
It is one other main situation for a beleaguered England staff.
Their captain Courtney Lawes lamented: “We actually damage ourselves in sure areas immediately, manner too many turnovers, self-discipline a difficulty once more. So we’re fairly disillusioned with that.”
There was no malice Vunipola’s motion, he insisted.
“Cut up-second choices, issues occur, folks wish to get us on the entrance foot and sadly errors like that occur,” he informed Prime Video in a post-match interview.
“Folks aren’t doing this on goal, it isn’t we have to simply sort out decrease,” he continued. “What extra are you able to do? We’re not attempting to harm one another as I say, split-second choices, generally errors occur.
“We have got to attempt to make the game secure for everybody who performs and that is why sanctions like this are put into place and we received a pink card for it.”
A ban for Vunipola would severely have an effect on England’s World Cup plans
However he added: “It is going to proceed to be half and parcel of the sport sadly. The one factor you are able to do actually is do your finest to get on with it, do not let it get your head down.”
He seemed to take positives from the 29-10 loss.
“We by no means quit and that’s one thing to remove. We proceed to press on, proceed to attempt to enhance,” Lawes stated. “Not the efficiency we wished in any respect. We knew it was going to be laborious away from house in opposition to the No 1-ranked staff on this planet.
“No matter what occurred, we discovered ourselves below the sticks far more than we wished to immediately nevertheless it was all the time Positive messages and on to the subsequent job.”
‘One other week of disruption’
England coach Steve Borthwick acknowledged tough days lie forward for his staff.
“It is going to be one other week of disruption. We knew that was coming already [with Owen Farrell’s hearing on Tuesday], it is now been amplified by the state of affairs with Billy,” he informed Prime Video.
England’s head coach Steve Borthwick has one other problem to handle
“We actually put a big emphasis on self-discipline and security. We have talked about that, we have had loads of conversations about it.
“What we want do to is take that incident in isolation itself and have a look at the incident the earlier week, however we additionally want to make sure the penalty rely away from that sort out space additionally improves.
“One of many issues is management what we are able to management and with 15 males on the pitch there was a tightness in that sport, however once we went to 14 males in opposition to Eire we actually struggled.
“We have got the gamers and if we get possession within the opposition half, we have to take our possibilities to attain factors.”