James Fender escapes a lengthy suspension after a dangerous tackle led to his red card during a match against Cardiff
Cardiff: So, here’s the scoop. James Fender, the Ospreys second-row, got sent off on New Year’s Day, but he’s dodged a long ban. Pretty wild, right?
He was shown a red card just 39 minutes into the game against Cardiff, which ended in a 13-13 draw. The incident? A dangerous tackle on Dan Thomas that the ref didn’t take lightly.
Fender was trying to clear out Thomas at a ruck but ended up landing heavily on his leg. Ouch! The ref, Ben Breakspear, thought it was dangerous enough to send him off.
After the match, Ospreys coach Mark Jones said he didn’t have any issues with the red card. He mentioned he hadn’t seen the replay but knew reckless tackles would get you in trouble.
Jones pointed out that it wasn’t intentional, just a case of poor technique. He gets that these kinds of tackles can really hurt players and mess with their careers.
Good news for Fender, though! He’s back in the mix for this weekend’s game against Newcastle. He did get a two-week ban for the foul play, but it was cut down because he apologized and has a clean record.
He served part of that ban during a match with Swansea RFC last Saturday. Now, it’s a bit of a mystery whether he’ll play in the Challenge Cup this weekend, but it could be a big chance for him to impress the Wales coaches.
With some key players out, Fender might just catch the eye of Warren Gatland ahead of the Six Nations squad announcement next week. Fingers crossed for him!