Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones ‘had testicles grabbed’ by England prop Joe Marler

England's Joe Marler has been accused by Alun Wyn Jones. Picture: David Davies/PAEngland's Joe Marler has been accused by Alun Wyn Jones. Picture: David Davies/PA
England's Joe Marler has been accused by Alun Wyn Jones. Picture: David Davies/PA | PA Wire
Welsh captain calls for action from World Rugby

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones says he hopes World Rugby review a first-half incident that saw his testicles grabbed by England prop Joe Marler during a feisty Guinness Six Nations clash at Twickenham.

Harlequins forward Marler, who has a chequered disciplinary history, escaped sanction following a first-half incident that went unnoticed by the match officials.

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But it is likely to be looked at by the match citing commissioner, which could leave Marler in disciplinary trouble.

World Rugby’s punishment for what they term “testicle grabbing or twisting or squeezing” ranges from a suspension of 12 weeks to 24 weeks or more.

Speaking at Wales’ post-match press conference, Jones, pictured inset, said: “I’ve got 138 Tests for my country. If I react, I get a red card. It’s tough, isn’t it?

“Hopefully, World Rugby have a look at it. Joe’s a good bloke, lots of things happen on a rugby field. It’s difficult as a captain these days because you can’t speak to a ref about anything, it feels.

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“I look at the touch judge. Obviously he didn’t see what happened, and that’s fine.

“There’s a lot of footage that has been shown. It seems like a lot of supporters saw what happened.

“It’s very frustrating that we talk a lot about TMOs [television match officials] and footage reviews, yet there doesn’t seem to be a lot of it happening.”

Jones added that he shook hands with Marler after the game.

Wales’ 33-30 defeat was their third in a row during this season’s tournament, the first time that has happened in one Six Nations campaign since 2007. Their final match is against Scotland in Cardiff this Saturday.

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Eddie Jones, the England coach, was also unhappy with referee Ben O’Keeffe after Manu Tuilagi was sent off for a dangerous tackle.

Tuilagi was dismissed with six minutes left when it was decided his flying shoulder-led challenge to the head of George North warranted a red card.

In recent times, Jones has made a virtue of not criticising refereeing decisions but he was compelled to voice his anger after seeing Tuilagi fall foul of World Rugby’s crackdown on dangerous play.

“I just find it bizarre. I usually don’t comment, but I don’t see how you can tackle a guy,” Jones said. “You might as well just say you let him go, because how else are you supposed to tackle him? This bit about where your arms are – what a load of rubbish.

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“Manu was trying to kill the tackle. That’s the only thing he was trying to do. It’s absolute rubbish. I’m sorry, I’ve broken my rule.

“It just seems there’s no common sense applied in that situation. Clearly the guy is falling, there’s a good chop tackle and Manu is coming over the top to kill the tackle.

“He’s doing everything that he’s supposed to be doing and he gets red carded. Like, come on.”

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