Charlie Ewels is sent off after just 82 SECONDS in England’s Six Nations showdown with Ireland for a dangerous early tackle on James Ryan… leaving the hosts at a major disadvantage against Andy Farrell’s men
- England star Charlie Ewels earned an early red card in their clash with Ireland
- Ewels was sent off after a mere 82 seconds of their Six Nations tie on Saturday
- The referee felt he made contact with his head when challenging James Ryan
- Eddie Jones’ men now trail at Twickenham and have a tough task on their hands
Charlie Ewels was sent off after just 82 seconds of England’s Six Nations clash with Ireland on Saturday for a controversial early challenge on James Ryan.
The two sides were evenly poised heading into their Twickenham meeting this weekend, having both won two and lost one of their opening three fixtures.
It promised to be a fascinating and well-matched encounter on Saturday afternoon, but England quickly found themselves at a major disadvantage when Ewels was brandished an early red card.
Charlie Ewels was sent off after just 82 seconds of England’s Six Nations clash with Ireland
The Bath lock received his marching orders from referee Mathieu Raynal after being deemed to have made contact with his head when tackling Ireland’s Ryan, much to the dismay of his team-mates.
Courtney Lawes was seen protesting the decision and pleading with Raynal that it was too early in the match to reduce the hosts to 14 men.
However, the decision stood and Eddie Jones’ men now have an uphill battle on their hands for the remainder of the match.
Johnny Sexton scored the resulting Ireland penalty to open the scoring, and to rub salt in the wounds for England they extended their lead three minutes later.
Ewels was deemed to have made contact with his head when challenging James Ryan
The Bath lock came together with Ireland’s Ryan early into Saturday’s clash at Twickenham
James Lowe capped a superb move from the visitors to make it 0-8 on the day, with Dan Sheehan’s pass sending Josh van der Flier through a gap and allowing the flanker to offload into Lowe’s path.
After the latter applied the finishing touch to seal the try, to England’s delight Sexton missed his kick and the score remained at 0-8.
And 13 minutes later the Lions reduced Ireland’s lead to five points when Marcus Smith kept his composure from a scrum penalty.
Smith did not enjoy the same fortunes with another penalty 11 minutes later, nevertheless, but in the 34th minute he made no mistake with his third of the day to make it 6-8.
A Hugo Keenan try and Sexton conversion then gave Ireland a nine-point cushion, before yet another Smith penalty made it 9-15 at the break.
Ryan was left briefly needing treatment after the dangerous collision with dismissed Ewels
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