Six Nations 2018: Ryan Wilson cited for alleged eye gouge on Nathan Hughes but no update on Owen Farrell tunnel clash

The Scotland No 8 is alleged to have made contact with the eye area of Hughes during an off-the-ball clash shortly before half-time of Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash

Jack de Menezes

Tuesday 27 February 2018 08:26 GMT

Ryan Wilson appears to make contact with the face of Nathan Hughes during Scotland's victory over England (BBC)

Ryan Wilson has been cited for allegedly making contact with the eye area of England forward Nathan Hughes during Scotland’s 25-13 Calcutta Cup victory on Saturday, but Six Nations officials have remained hush on any action being taken against the Scottish forward and Owen Farrell after their pre-match fracas in the Murrayfield tunnel.

Additional footage of the pre-match incident emerged on Monday that showed Farrell chasing after Wilson, grabbing the Glasgow Warriors back-row by the shoulder in order to confront him while other Scottish players attempted to restrain the England centre.

It’s believed that Farrell shoved Wilson before being pulled apart by a mixture of England and Scotland players, but the provocation behind the incident remains a mystery after both teams refused to speak about it immediately after the match.

Six Nations team of the week

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1/15Six Nations team of the week

Six Nations team of the week

1. Cian Healy (Ireland)

The powerhouse loosehead has regained his place in the Irish front-row and went about doing as much damage on the Welsh defence as possible. His scrummaging stood up well against the equally-strong Samson Lee, but it was his work with the ball – including his try – that really stood out.

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Six Nations team of the week

2. Stuart McInally (Scotland)

Made an incisive run through the English defence that helped set up Sean Maitland’s try, and reliable at the lineout in all bar one of his throws. A good performance that helped give Scotland the base for their famous victory.

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Six Nations team of the week

3. Simon Berghan (Scotland)

Another brilliant display from the tighthead who is really coming on as an international Test player. His scrum battle with Mako Vunipola was an intriguing one to watch with neither giving away an inch, and he secured one important turnover in the second half to stem an English attack.

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Six Nations team of the week

4. James Ryan (Ireland)

The Leinster lock returns to The Independent’s team of the weekend after missing the second round with injury, and he really is proving himself to be quite the young player at this level. A great showing across the park, particularly with his ball carrying, and he is also a very handy option in the lineout.

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Six Nations team of the week

5. Jonny Gray (Scotland)

Bounced back well from an early missed tackle on Nathan Hughes, and led the Scottish defensive effort as he got through a ridiculous amount of work, particularly in the second half.

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Six Nations team of the week

6. Sebastian Negri (Italy)

A standout performance in defeat should be heralded as the Treviso back-row caught the eye with three defence-splitting runs against France. Italy may fear the end of Sergio Parisse’s international career, but in Negri they have a similar figure that can lift his teammates by his own performance. Extremely harsh on Scotland captain John Barclay for his defensive work rate and breakdown prowess, but Negri just couldn’t be left out.

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Six Nations team of the week

7. Hamish Watson (Scotland)

Rampant at the breakdown as he led the Scottish turnovers, securing two penalties from English ball and proving a thorn in the side of Eddie Jones throughout Saturday afternoon. Quickly emerging as one of the breakdown masters in European rugby.

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Six Nations team of the week

8. Ryan Wilson (Scotland)

Not as prominent as his back-row colleagues but he contributed enormously by often being the main support runner that helped Scotland maintain possession. Just shaded the battle with Nathan Hughes as the England No 8 was at fault for Huw Jones’ second try, and holds off a good showing from Ireland’s CJ Stander.

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Six Nations team of the week

9. Gareth Davies (Wales)

Another player who starred in defeat. The Scarlets scrum-half showed there is life after Rhys Webb as he smartly collected a loose pass, drifted laterally before cutting a smart line to run straight through the Irish defence and score his side’s first try. A real attacking livewire that can’t be left alone for a minute.

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Six Nations team of the week

10. Finn Russell (Scotland)

Wrote a remarkable story of redemption at Murrayfield as he silenced his critics to mastermind Scotland’s historic victory over England. Put the chip through for Jones’ first try, played an inch-perfect pass to Jones that triggered the whole move for Sean Maitland’s score – as well as throwing the flat ball to the Saracens wing – and jinked past the would-be tacklers before unleashing Jones for the third try. A brilliant showing.

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Six Nations team of the week

11. Jacob Stockdale (Ireland)

Seven tries in seven Tests is not a bad start to any international career, and the Ulster wing is showing no signs of letting up his wonderful rate of scoring after bagging two more tries against Wales.

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Six Nations team of the week

12. Peter Horne (Scotland)

A commanding display in giving Russell and outlet if the pressure came on, and he also showed off his ability to kick when pinning England back with delicate chips in behind. His passing was reliable throughout the Calcutta Cup clash, and despite Owen Farrell scoring all of England’s 13 points, it was Horne who won the battle of the 12s.

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Six Nations team of the week

13. Huw Jones ( Scotland)

Russell may have got the man of the match award but it was Jones who not so much as floored England as knocked them out cold. His early try stunned the reigning champions and brought Murrayfield to life, and his second was a brilliant finish that showed off his power and pace that also had an echo of Brian O’Driscoll’s 2001 Lions score about it. Simply an outstanding player and a delight to watch.

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Six Nations team of the week

14. Keith Earls (Ireland)

Mr Reliable for Ireland is quickly becoming Mr Highlight Ree. Earls has always been known as a workhorse player but he has added something new to his game this Six Nations that has enabled him to have a devastating impact on games. Two defence-busting runs down the right flank both led to points for the Irish.

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Six Nations team of the week

15. Stuart Hogg (Scotland)

Always a threat when he gets the ball in hand and England allowed him the space that he needed to pin his ears. Combined well with Maitland and Tommy Seymour, and Scotland seemed to learn from not overusing him at first receiver and leave him out in space where he can have a much bigger impact. Also took on a responsibility with kicking, even if he did miss a long penalty effort from halfway.

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The Rugby Football Union are understood to have told the Six Nations that Farrell was not the instigator of the conflict and was provoked after being asked to explain the incident, while the Scottish Rugby Union have also been contacted.

However, a citing was brought forward against Wilson for a separate incident that occurred during the match.

Wilson has been cited for alleged contact with the eye area of England No 8 Nathan Hughes shortly before half-time as the pair grappled off the ball. Hughes, who appeared to have his hand on his opposite number’s throat, could be seen holding down 37-year-old Wilson, who responded by grabbing the Wasps back-row by the face.

Farrell is seen chasing after Wilson, who has been cited for a separate incident (YouTube/Rugby Dump)

A Six Nations statement read: “Ryan Wilson, the Scotland back-row forward, has been cited for an alleged act of foul play by the independent citing commissioner appointed by World Rugby at the NatWest Six Nations match between Scotland and England on Saturday.

“The alleged offence, contact with the eye area of an opponent (Law 9.12) took place in the 37th minute of the match.

“A disciplinary hearing will be convened before a Six Nations disciplinary committee on Wednesday.”

Wilson has been cited for an incident in the 37th minute (Getty)

If found guilty, the charge carries a low-entry requirement of a four-week ban, with a mid-entry of eight weeks and top end of at least 12 weeks, but the charge is not as serious as contact with the eye, which would result in a ban of at least 12 weeks at low-entry level and a mid-level of 18 weeks. Any ban is likely to rule Wilson out of the remainder of the Six Nations though, with Scotland due to play Ireland a week on Saturday in Dublin and host Italy the following week on the final weekend of the championship on 17 March.

Farrell was involved in a pre-match incident with Wilson before England's match with Scotland (Getty)

The Scottish players enjoyed Saturday celebrations in Edinburgh to the fullest after securing their first win over England in 10 years, with a video emerging of half-back pairing Greig Laidlaw and Finn Russell drinking together with teammates and friends while singing ‘Flower of Scotland’, with Laidlaw looking worse for wear after ripping off his shirt with his tie around his head.

England meanwhile have responded by altering their training plans in the week, partly due to head coach Eddie Jones looking at what went wrong against Scotland and partly due to the snowstorm that hit the United Kingdom on Monday.

Jones called up 27 players to his training squad, with Elliot Daly returning from injury and Kyle Sinckler also added to the 25-man squad that was retained for the weekend’s trip to Edinburgh. Daly has not played since badly injuring his ankle in December – and aggravating a similar injury on his other leg when returning to training two weeks ago – while Sinckler has been added as a third-choice tighthead prop behind Dan Cole and Harry Williams.

But in an effort to recondition the players, particularly those that have played the majority of England’s three matches so far this championship, Jones has split his squad between 19 players that will convene in Oxford on Tuesday for a training camp, and putting the eight remaining players – which includes, Cole, Mako Vunipola and Joe Launchbury – through “mini regional camps” at their respective clubs Leicester Tigers, Saracens and Wasps.

Richard Wigglesworth will join Vunipola at Saracens, while Harlequins quartet Joe Marler, Chris Robshaw, Danny Care and Mike Brown will remain at England’s main base at Pennyhill Park in Bagshot.

England training squad

Backs

Mike Brown (Harlequins) - Pennyhill Park

Danny Care (Harlequins) - Pennyhill Park

Elliot Daly (Wasps) - Oxford

Owen Farrell (Saracens) - Oxford

George Ford (Leicester Tigers) - Oxford

Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby) - Oxford

Jonny May (Leicester Tigers) - Oxford

Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs) - Oxford

Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors) - Oxford

Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby) - Oxford

Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens) – Saracens

Forwards

Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers) - Tigers

Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby) - Oxford

Jamie George (Saracens) - Oxford

Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints) - Oxford

James Haskell (Wasps) - Oxford

Nathan Hughes (Wasps) - Oxford

Maro Itoje (Saracens) - Oxford

George Kruis (Saracens) - Oxford

Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints) - Oxford

Joe Launchbury (Wasps) - Wasps

Joe Marler (Harlequins) - Pennyhill Park

Chris Robshaw (Harlequins) - Pennyhill Park

Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins) - Oxford

Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby) - Oxford

Mako Vunipola (Saracens) - Saracens

Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs) - Oxford

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