JOE MARLER has been banned for SIX weeks and will miss England’s first two Six Nations games.
And that means Red Rose boss Eddie Jones is now likely to turn to uncapped rookie Beno Obano to be his back-up loosehead prop for the matches against Italy and Wales.
Harlequins stalwart Marler, capped 53 times, can play again on February 20.
He will be available for the trip to Murrayfield to face Scotland in the Calcutta Cup clash on February 24.
The 27-year-old pleaded guilty to smashing Sale’s TJ Ioane in the back of the head in Saturday’s defeat at the AJ Bell stadium.
Chairman of the panel Philip Evans QC said: “The panel found that contact was made with the head of TJ Ioane and as a result the mandatory entry point is mid-range.
“The panel considered that the player’s previous record was such that it required an additional period of suspension of one week.
“However because of his plea, his conduct since the incident took place and other personal mitigation, the panel allowed some reduction.”
The prop was fined £20,000 in 2016 and banned for two games for calling Samson Lee a “gypsy-boy”.
Just three months ago, Marler served another three-week ban for a similar offence to his latest crime.
Leave a comment