France star escapes with two-game ban after ‘prolonged contact’ with eyes
France lock Cloé Correa has been banned for two games after World Rugby determined that her eye-raking of an Australia opponent was accidental.
Correa was one of two France players to get sent off in a wild 29-26 WXV Global Series win over the Wallaroos in Aix-en-Provence on Sunday (AEST).
Cloe Correa was sent off for this. Stan
Another three France players were yellow carded and the hosts had only 11 players on the field at one stage.
Referee Holly Wood had no hesitation in issuing Correa a red card after watching her hands make contact with the face of a Wallaroos player in a first half maul.
“There is fingers in the eyes for a prolonged period of time, OK. To me that would be a straight red card... prolonged contact with the eye,” Wood said.
But World Rugby announced on Wednesday that it had accepted the 22-year-old’s version of events.
“Correa accepted foul play had occurred and that the red card was warranted,” the statement read.
“In determining the sanction, the foul player review committee found that there was contact with the eye area but not direct eye contact, the contact was not deliberate and there was no effect on the victim player, and therefore a low-end entry point was appropriate. Correa was awarded full 50 per cent mitigation resulting in a final proposed sanction of two matches.”
Correa will miss Tests against Canada and New Zealand.
Her teammate, Ambre Mwayembe, will also miss those matches if she completes tackle school at World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme.
Mwayembe was red carded for a dangerous tackle against Australia.
“Mwayembe accepted foul play had occurred and that the red card was warranted. In determining the sanction, the FPRC found that Mwayembe attempted a tackle in an upright position which resulted in shoulder-to-head contact with the Australian player,” the statement read.
The Wallaroos now take on Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday (AEST) as coach Tim Walsh lamented one that got away.
“We put ourselves in a position to take out a win, and we didn’t execute. But the positive is that we put ourselves in the position to win, but we’re disappointed and particularly on half-time, you know, when the French scored with 13 players,” Walsh said.
“Like, that’s unacceptable. And that’s probably where the game might have been at its momentum shifting. And then, obviously, half-time, I don’t know whether you guys planned to bomb the bus, but it certainly had everything.
“The game had everything, didn’t it? It had a fantastic crowd, two fantastic teams, some running rugby, some discipline, some fireworks, and then some fire. So, yeah, it was an entertaining game.
“If you compare how many matches a year the Wallaroos play to the French, it’s probably half, not from a Test match, just normal rugby.
“So our ability to manage games, to upskill, to be fit, is where we’re lacking. We’re not lacking the talent.”
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