England back Piers Francis free to continue playing at Rugby World Cup after citing dismissed

Nervy wait: Piers Francis was cited after England's win over the USA in Kobe
PA
George Flood29 September 2019

Piers Francis will be available for England's forthcoming Rugby World Cup matches after the Northampton Saints back saw his citing dismissed on Sunday.

Francis caught USA full-back Will Hooley with a shoulder-led challenge to the head in the opening seconds of Thursday's 45-7 victory at Kobe Misaki Stadium.

At the disciplinary hearing in Tokyo, Francis admitted the tackle was dangerous but insisted it warranted a sin-binning only and the committee agreed.

"Having considered all the angles of the incident, together with evidence from the player and submissions from his legal counsel, the panel determined that the act ought to have resulted in a yellow card on-field," a World Rugby statement read.

"Since the threshold for upholding a citing is 'red card', the committee did not uphold the citing and the player is free to play again immediately."

Mitigating factors such as Hooley's sudden change in height before contact and Francis' attempt to change his own height shaped the decision.

It means Francis is free to play in the crunch Pool C clash with Argentina on Saturday, although as a fringe player in Eddie Jones' squad he is unlikely to start.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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