Billy Vunipola is shown a red card in England's defeat against Ireland
Billy Vunipola is shown a red card in England’s defeat against Ireland for a dangerous tackle on Andrew Porter just a week after Owen Farrell was sent off against Wales
- Billy Vunipola was sent off after being shown a red card against Ireland
- The England forward committed a dangerous tackle on Ireland’s Andrew Porter
- Vunipola could now miss part of England’s upcoming World Cup campaign
Billy Vunipola was sent off in England’s defeat against Ireland on Saturday after having an initial yellow card upgraded to a red following a review.
The England forward was involved in a 53rd minute clash with Ireland’s Andrew Porter as he lead with his shoulder while attempting to tackle.
Vunipola’s right-shoulder connected with Porter’s head as the Irishman tried to break through England’s defence.
On-field referee Paul Williams initially showed the 30-year-old a red card that placed the England star in the sinbin while play resumed.
Ireland would add another try through James Lowe in his absence before Vunipola was permanently removed from proceedings after a review.
Billy Vunipola (pictured) was shown a red card after a dangerous tackle on Ireland’s Andrew Porter on Saturday
Vunipola (middle) could now miss part of England’s upcoming Rugby World Cup campaign
Producing the red card that ensured Steve Borthwick’s side with 10-man was ruled by officials explaining there was a ‘high degree of danger and no mitigation.’
Vunipola could now miss part of England’s Rugby World Cup campaign, that gets started against Argentina on September 9, with a hearing set to take place.
The incident comes just a week after Owen Farrell had his red card for a similar tackle against Wales rescinded at a disciplinary hearing.
However, the England skipper will attend an independent appeal hearing in relation to the incident on Tuesday.
Vunipola’s team-mate and captain for the contest in Ireland attempted to explain the red card after the match and labelled the tackle as a ‘split-second’ decision.
Vunipola (left) makes contact with the head of Porter (middle) as his shoulder clatters the Irishman
England head coach Steve Borthwick (left) watched on as Vunipola (right) was given his marching orders
Lawes told Amazon Prime Sport: ‘People aren’t doing this on purpose you know, it’s not a question of we need to tackle lower, split-second decisions, things happen, people want to get on the front-foot and unfortunately mistakes like that happen and it will continue to be part and parcel of the game unfortunately.
‘The only thing you can do really is do your best to get on with it, don’t let it get your head down, regardless of what happened we found ourselves under stick way more than we wanted to but always positive messages and on to the next job.
‘I don’t want to comment on it at the minute, we have to try and make the sport safer and that’s why sanctions like this are in place and we got a red card for it today.
‘What more can you do? We aren’t trying to hurt each other, split-second decision, sometimes mistakes happen.’
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