Rugby World Cup / Pool C: Rugby World Cup officials have been urged by Australia coach Eddie Jones to reprimand England following a dispute over Dan Luger's brief and unauthorised appearance in the closing stages of Sunday's victory over Samoa in Melbourne.
Luger was on the field for 34 seconds while centre Mike Tindall was being treated for an injury, but he had failed to get the go-ahead from touchline officials. Tournament organisers have requested reports from England and the relevant game officials. They also said a complaint had been made by England in connection with the mix-up.
There is no chance of England being docked points or a replay ordered, and Clive Woodward was disinclined to comment yesterday. Jones, however, believes a rap over the knuckles is necessary.
"Yeah, I hope they're punished for it," said Jones. "I think definitely their ground official should be censured and reprimanded for not following the instructions of the off-the-field officials.
"We all like to get players on as quickly as we can but it's very important teams do follow protocol, because you wouldn't want a game like Sunday's spoiled by something as silly as that. I don't think England would have done it by design."
Luger made one tackle before referee Jonathan Kaplan asked him to leave the field, but the Samoan camp are not pursuing the matter, taking the view human error was to blame.
England have had recent problems regarding touchline etiquette. The English kit man, Dave Tennison, unwittingly ran between the ball and Frederic Michalak as the outhalf was about to take a touchline conversion against France in Marseille last month before Michalak missed the kick.
Meanwhile, England's players needed a pick-me-up after their Samoan scare and on arrival at their new country club-style retreat on the Gold Coast they found it awaiting them in the lobby. Will Greenwood is back with the squad after a week's compassionate leave and, if England can show the same fortitude as their 31-year-old centre, their World Cup campaign is far from over.
One would never have guessed from Greenwood's remarkably candid press conference yesterday that he and his family have been to hell and back over the past nine days. First-class return flights on British Airways cushioned the journey slightly, but the Harlequins player is adamant his wife's recent pregnancy complications will not undermine his contribution to England's cause in Australia.
If that proves to be so, it will be a massive triumph of professionalism over all the odds. Caroline Greenwood is still in hospital but is no longer in intensive care and has urged her husband to rejoin the squad he left after the victory over South Africa in Perth last Saturday week.
"We're in a different ball-park to where we were last Monday and it's just fingers crossed now," said Greenwood. "The doctors are doing an amazing job, Caro's a tough cookie and we're hopeful that in three to four weeks' time, or whenever the English team return, she'll be in a good state and the doctors might allow her to come home. She has had an operation, the results have been good and she's now stable."
When Greenwood flew back to Britain, though, there was no way of knowing what might await him. The couple lost their first child, Freddie, who was born prematurely, last September, and his wife, as previously, was 21 weeks pregnant.
"There were all sorts of things going through your mind. I had no idea going back what I would be faced with. You almost don't want to discuss ifs. At this moment we're delighted with the progress Caro has made and I'm delighted to be back on the Gold Coast.
"Life does go on; we learnt that with Freddie last year. It's important I continue to do what I do and hopefully provide for a future family. This World Cup is part of my life and this squad have been through a lot already.
"When we lost Freddie last September I found the squad a fantastic place to be during the autumn internationals. I've been good mates with a lot of these guys for a long time. You even get to the stage where you're comfortable with silence.
"I wouldn't have come back if I hadn't felt this was the place where I could get a smile back and look forward to playing my rugby. You find it almost comforting to go and put your kit on and have a game. It's a chance to escape and that's what I enjoy about it. As far as I'm concerned I'm available to play against Uruguay on Sunday."
Woodward will ponder that decision overnight before announcing his team tomorrow but, until then, the squad have been given a couple of days off to reflect on their progress so far. Not all of them will want to pore over every bruising detail of the win over Samoa, particularly as the video is likely to reveal more unsettling evidence that sides are working England out. If you hassle England's half-backs, knock their big men back in the tackle and stop their back row at source, they start to look as mortal as anyone.
