Rugby World Cup hero Steve Thompson says Owen Farrell verdict shows player welfare is not a priority, claiming it ‘reeks of corruption’ to ensure the England captain is in France

England’s World Cup winning hero, Steve Thompson, has delivered a damning verdict on Owen Farrell’s disciplinary verdict, claiming it ‘reeked of corruption’ and proving player welfare is not a priority.

A mainstay of the 2003 global conquest under Sir Clive Woodward, the 45-year-old ex-Red Rose hooker is among a group of former professional players who have brought legal proceedings against governing bodies in the sport over post-career health concerns. issues. Thompson has been diagnosed with early stage dementia, leaving him unable to remember his finest hour on the field – as revealed in his critically acclaimed autobiography, Unforgettable.

With more and more of those recently retired affected by the impact of so much head trauma on duty over so many years, Thompson is among those desperate to emphasize the importance of making rugby safer. He is dismayed and angry at the judicial handling of the Farrell incident, after a yellow card was upgraded to red during the game at Twickenham, after a disciplinary panel concluded that ruling was flawed.

“At first you’re mad because Owen Farrell has a ‘previous,’ but this isn’t a witch hunt about Owen Farrell, it’s about the whole procedure,” Thompson said. Mail sports. ‘The referee acted correctly; yellow card, then it’s made up to a red card, then it goes to a hearing.

“You have so many ex-players and supporters of Saracens and England who always stick with Owen Farrell, so for them to also come out and just say this is an absolute joke… It just smacks of corruption, to put it make sure he plays in that first match (at the World Cup).

“The only good thing is the absolute outrage of about 99 percent of the people, because they know it’s wrong. It’s hard for myself and others trying to change people’s thinking, but on the other hand it’s a good thing because so many people are so angry about it – because of the change we’ve made.”

Thompson was outraged by the panel’s conclusion that a late dip by the ball carrier, Welsh back-rower Taine Basham, served as a mitigation for Farrell – justifying why his shoulder made contact with Basham’s head. The bailiffs were convinced that a marginal contact on Basham by English hooker Jamie George had changed his course a fraction of a second before the collision with Farrell.

“For them (the panel) to say that what Jamie George did affected it… I’d like to see if that was considered a missed tackle because it looked like he just touched him,” Thompson said. “There was never any tackle there or enough power to push him forward.”

Late last year, the RFU and Premiership Rugby were brutally attacked by a parliamentary committee for their way of running the sport in this country. In relation to that, Thompson added: ‘As the government said, they (rugby authorities) have just been left to do their own homework.

“For them to be so in the spotlight about all the concussions and brain injuries, and for them to do this now just proves that they don’t care. They just don’t care about player welfare and safety, as they keep saying.’

When Mail Sport contacted World Rugby for comment on Thompson’s opinion, a spokesperson said: ‘While World Rugby is unable to comment on a specific incident, it takes player welfare extremely seriously. The sanctioning processes on and off the field have played an important role in changing tackle behavior and will continue to do so.”