Delon Armitage will miss England’s quarter-final meeting with France after a cheap shot on Scotland’s Chris Paterson on Saturday.
The London Irish back has a reputation for being something of a hothead on the pitch, a reputation that was enhanced with a very late and very high tackle on Paterson as Scotland attempted to force a win they needed to qualify from the pool in Auckland on Saturday.
Following a review of broadcast footage, Armitage was cited by Independent Citing Commissioner Scott Nowland under Law 10.4(e) for a dangerous tackle in the Rugby World Cup 2011 Pool B match against Scotland in Auckland on 1 October.
Armitage will miss the quarter-final with the wildly erratic French as a result, although he will be free to play in the semi-final should England make it that far.
Armitage’s brush with the law is the latest in a long line of misdemeanours committed by the England rugby team while in New Zealand. Yesterday, Martin Johnson was forced to discipline three of his players over an incident involving a female hotel worker in Dunedin.
Jonny Wilkinson, meanwhile, is a major doubt for the quarter-final with an arm injury. Wilkinson suffered the injury in the victory over Scotland and an initial scan on the injury has proved inconclusive.
Martin Johnson has admitted that he is worried that Wilkinson might not only miss this weekend’s quarter-final, but the entire tournament as a result.
“We’re hopeful but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried,” said Johnson.
“We still need another day to see where it’s going to go.”
Given his woeful form in the tournament to date and Toby Flood’s impressive cameo from the bench against the Scots, Wilkinson’s latest ailment could be a blessing in disguise for England.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
