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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Sunderland

England's Charlie Ewels receives one of fastest Six Nations reds ever after 82 seconds

Saturday's Six Nations clash between England and Ireland got off to a nightmarish start for the Twickenham hosts after Charlie Ewels was sent off after just 82 seconds.

The Bath lock rushed up in an effort to stub out Ireland's advances but made direct head-to-head contact with Irish counterpart James Ryan.

The Leinster man struggled to stand up following the collision and swiftly came off the field for a head injury assessment (HIA), while referee Mathieu Raynal showed Ewels a straight red card.

Iain Henderson came on as a replacement for the injured Ryan, who appeared highly unlikely to come back into the fixture.

Ireland were quick to make the most of their one-man advantage and scored through winger James Lowe, who was restored to the starting XV following injury.

England were considered underdogs for the fourth-round fixture, and Ewels' early exit certainly didn't help their chances of pulling off an upset.

Both teams came into this fixture knowing defeat would end their chances of catching Six Nations leaders France, with Ireland and England entering the clash sat in second and third, respectively.

Ewels' red is one of the fastest dismissals in Six Nations history—if not Test rugby in general—though European rugby fans have seen quicker.

England lock Charlie Ewels was sent off after 82 seconds against Ireland (David Rogers/Getty Images)

Ospreys full-back Dan Evans received a four-week ban following his red card after just 37 seconds during a Champions Cup clash against Racing 92 in December 2019.

One imagines Ewels is due to receive a similar sanction, meaning the second row appears certain to miss England's trip to Paris in the fifth and final round of the Six Nations.

That leaves Eddie Jones with another conundrum at lock following fears Maro Itoje would miss Saturday's meeting with Ireland after coming down with illness.

Among those in contention to replace the Bath forward are Wasps veteran Joe Launchbury, Saracens star Nick Isiekwe and Leicester Tigers' Ollie Chessum, should Ewels recieve a ban as expected.

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