Six Nations 2018: Ryan Wilson cleared of eye-gouging due to ‘light and fleeting’ contact caused by existing injury

Ryan Wilson has been cleared to play in the remainder of Scotland’s Six Nations campaign after the charge against him for allegedly eye gouging England’s Nathan Hughes was thrown out, with the contact judged to have been “light and fleeting” and “reckless rather than intentional” due to a pre-existing injury on his hand.

The Glasgow Warriors back-row had been accused of the offence during a 37th-minute off-the-ball incident with Hughes during last Saturday’s 25-13 victory over England, which saw Scotland lift the Calcutta Cup for the first time in a decade. Hughes appeared to pin Wilson to the ground as they clashed by grabbing his opposite number by his neck, resulting in the Scot trying to push him off by throwing his hand towards his face.

But after hearing from Wilson himself and reviewing the footage, a Six Nations disciplinary committee has decided that the offence did not warrant a red card, and have cleared the No 8 as a result.

However, they did add that they judged Wilson’s contact with Hughes’ face to be caused by the fact that the two outside fingers on his right hand are bent due to a previous injury, and elected that while there was contact, it was not of a serious nature.

“The disciplinary committee, having viewed the video footage of the incident, considered all of the other evidence and heard representations by and on behalf of the players and Six Nations Rugby, found that the player had committed an act of foul play in that he had made contact (with two of his fingers) with the eye area (ie ‘anywhere in close proximity to the eye’ according to World Rugby’s regulation 17) of his opponent.

“However, the disciplinary committee accepted medical evidence adduced on the player’s behalf to the effect that, due to a pre-existing injury, two of his fingers (his fourth and little finger on his right hand) were involuntarily in a bent or hooked position. The disciplinary committee also considered that the contact with the eye area had been reckless (rather than intentional), light and fleeting, and had come about as a result of the player’s attempts to grab this opponent’s shirt during an off-the-ball scuffle with his opponent.”

The decision comes after Wilson was cleared of any violent conduct in the pre-match tunnel incident that also included Owen Farrell among others, with Six Nations deciding not to take action but to write to both the RFU and SRU to remind them of their obligations as well of what is expected of their players.