Saracens may have to proceed without the services of Maro Itoje for their upcoming Premiership play-off matches, following a recent incident during their game against Bath. The England lock has been cited for a dangerous tackle on Bath player Alfie Barbeary, which resulted in a yellow card being issued to Itoje.
The controversial incident occurred in the 29th minute of the match, with television match official (TMO) David Rose alerting referee Luke Pearce to review the tackle. After careful consideration of the replay footage, which included both normal speed and slow-motion angles, Pearce deemed the tackle as not directly impacting Barbeary’s head, leading to the issue of a yellow card rather than a red one.
Pearce stated, “It is head-on-head contact, it is foul play because [Itoje] is upright. It’s not a flush blow because it’s off his shoulder and then a little bit of contact with his head. It’s high danger mitigated, so it’s yellow.”
As a result of the yellow card, Itoje will appear before an independent disciplinary hearing, where he could potentially face a three-week ban. Even if the ban is reduced by a week upon completion of World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme, he would still miss crucial league fixtures against Bristol Bears and Sale Sharks.
The possibility of a more severe sanction poses a significant risk for Saracens, as it could potentially rule Itoje out of the Premiership play-off semi-final, should the team secure qualification.
Despite the decision to issue a yellow card, Saracens could argue that the tackle was not severe enough to warrant a red. Club captain Owen Farrell expressed this sentiment to Pearce during the match, claiming that the collision between Itoje and Barbeary was “chest-on-chest”.
The differing opinions on the nature of the tackle were highlighted as Bath head coach Johann van Graan insisted that it was a clear head clash. “We’ll let the referee deal with it, but what I saw was head-on-head,” he stated during an interview.
The outcome of Itoje’s disciplinary hearing on Tuesday will have significant implications for Saracens and their Premiership play-off aspirations. For now, the team will have to wait for the final decision and prepare for the possibility of competing without their influential lock.