England's Cokayne banned from Women's Six Nations match against Ireland

rugby17 April 2024 14:00| © AFP
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Amy Cokayne @ Getty Images

England hooker Amy Cokayne has been give a one-game ban that will rule her out of Saturday's Women's Six Nations match with Ireland after she was sent off against Scotland.

Cokayne saw red in Edinburgh last weekend following a second yellow card in the 54th minute for a high tackle on Scotland counterpart Lana Skeldon.

Her absence made no difference to the result as reigning champions England, who've won the competition for five successive years, thrashed Scotland 46-0 – their 27th straight victory in the Six Nations.

It was Cokayne who scored the first of England's eight tries in an utterly lopsided rout that once again emphasised the gulf between the Red Roses, who turned professional much earlier than their European rivals, and the other five teams.

A Six Nations statement issued on Wednesday on behalf of a disciplinary committee found the acts of foul play "justified the red card".

But it added: "By applying World Rugby's sanctioning provisions, the disciplinary committee determined that a two-week entry point was appropriate with the full 50 per cent mitigation applied, reducing the sanction to one week."

Cokayne, who was making her first appearance in 12 months following a calf injury, could now return for a probable Grand Slam-decider against France a week on Saturday.

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