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Publication date: September 6, 2020
Owen Farrell will miss the Saracens Champions Cup quarterfinals with Leinster, but Mark McCall insists his red card isn’t a blow to his chances.
Farrell saw red at the hour mark in the Saracens’ surprise 28-18 Premiership loss to the Wasps, hitting Charlie Atkinson in the face when the sides were tied at Allianz Park.
McCall’s team will play Leinster in Europe on September 19, but the dismissal means they will likely have to cope without the high middle in their most important game since the restart of rugby.
“I saw it live but I didn’t see it on video. He was chasing his own kick and he was desperate to make a tackle and clearly he screwed up and got his red card, “said rugby director McCall.
“It is what it is. He could easily have been out of Leinster’s game for another reason, injury or whatever.
“He missed the last quarterfinals of the Champions Cup because his wife was going to have their first child.
“We have a lot of good running backs at the club, so we’ll reorganize our bottom line a bit and move on.
“He works very hard in all parts of his game and has improved in that area.
“Today’s incident was a little different because he was chasing a kick and trying to make a difference on his team. We hope the player he hit is fine. “
The Saracens were 1/50 favorites to beat a much-changed Wasps team, but were outscored by a flawless Jimmy Gopperth who scored 23 points.
Elliot Daly and Sean Maitland had crossed for Saracens to take them to 15-15 before Farrell’s red changed the complexion of the match.
“It’s really bad… I can’t defend that.”
Owen Farrell received a red card against Wasps for this entry to Charlie Atkinson …
Lawrence Dallaglio considers the implications for the Saracens and England. pic.twitter.com/xZuOfEZK9E
– Rugby at BT Sport (@btsportrugby) September 5, 2020
Tom Willis scored the Wasps’ only attempt and it was enough to claim a huge victory and move to third place in the Premiership table.
“Charlie [Atkinson] He’s up and talking, ”said head coach Lee Blackett. “You know Owen, he’s physical but he didn’t mean it.
“You could see instantly afterwards and unfortunately Owen was wrong.
“We know Owen is not that type of player, he plays at the limit, but he never really goes beyond that limit. He was a bit wrong.
“Before the game I thought it was a great test of where the team was. It was a great opportunity for some youngsters to play against a team with players from England and British and Irish Lions.
“It was Jimmy’s 100th appearance for us. We came together at the same time and it has been amazing for us for the last five years.
“He had guided us very well. It doesn’t really matter where you play it.
“He had a brief stint at 15 in the game, he always seems to do a job for me.”
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