England and Northampton Saints flanker Tom Wood has been cleared to play against Australia, in what is now a must win fixture for the host nation. No further action will be taken after he was not cited for an incident that left Liam Williams unconscious during England’s 28-25 defeat.
A controversial call
The incident occurred in the second half as Wood attempted to secure possession for England and, in doing so, his shin connected with Liam Williams' head, knocking the full-back unconscious. While the England flanker has been cleared of any intentional wrong doing, hence not being cited, he has been officially warned for his behaviour.
A warning is the equivalent to a yellow card, if a player wracks up three warnings throughout the Rugby World Cup it means they will face a disciplinary hearing which could see a ban enforced.
While Wood has seemingly escaped any serious punishment, the injury could carry repercussions for full-back Liam Williams. He could possibly miss the remaining group stage fixtures due the newly instated head injuries protocol, but Wales are assessing his progress on a day-to-day basis. Williams will definitely miss the game against Fiji, and is doubt for the mammoth clash against Australia.
More woes for Warren Gatland
This adds to the ever growing and extremely worrying injury list for Wales boss Warren Gatland, with Scott Williams and Hallam Amos both ruled out of the tournament due to injuries picked up in the England match. The list also includes stars like Leigh Halfpenny and Jonathan Davis, though Gareth Anscombe and James Hook will provide excellent cover for both Scott Williams and Amos.
England face Australia in a must win game this weekend, knowing a defeat will knock them out of their own World Cup; Tom Wood is a vital player for the England side so this will be great news for them. As for Wales, they host Fiji in Cardiff on Thursday and will be hopeful that the home crowd can spur them on to victory in spite of the injury woes.
