England prop Joe Marler will not miss a single game of rugby despite grabbing Alun Wyn Jones' genitals in a Six Nations match last month, according to reports.
Marler received a 10-week ban after he was found guilty of 'grabbing, twisting or squeezing' the genitals of Wales captain Jones during England's 33-30 Twickenham win.
The ban should have effectively ended Marler's season prematurely after the latest in a line of disciplinary issues.
When a player is banned, the weeks they serve are supposed to correspond to weeks when they are scheduled to play a competitive match.
Therefore, Marler's initial ban of 10 weeks was actually a 12-week break, accounting for two weekends when he was not due to play.
The Times report that David Hurley, who chaired the disciplinary panel in the case, wrote to Six Nations bosses calling for a review of the sanctions, given the rugby season has ground to a halt because of the coronavirus.
A 'secret' meeting was held and the case for and against a review was heard. However, the paper says that Hurley's request was knocked back and the sanction will not be adjusted, despite of the suspension of all fixtures across rugby in the northern hemisphere.
It means Marler will be permitted to take the field when his ban expires on June 8, having not missed a match for club or country. That flies in the face of the usual desire for bans to ensure players miss meaningful matches.
The Times add that Marler said he intercepted Jones during a scuffle “to have a big laugh with him” and that he ended up “tickling” him in a way the Wales lock “would have been accustomed to in the past”.
It also means Manu Tuilagi, who was red-carded for his high tackle on George North in the same game, has already served his four-week ban and is free to play when rugby returns.
The national newspaper add that Wales skipper Jones declined to submit a written statement to the disciplinary panel, who say such correspondence would have been beneficial.
