England receive second red card in two weeks as Billy Vunipola sent off

England are currently trailing Ireland 17 – 3 in Dublin with twenty minutes to play in the match.

Showing very little in terms of attacking prowess England have rarely challenged Ireland who on the flipside have struck when given half a chance.

Making England’s job that bit tougher is a red card handed to number eight Billy Vunipola who put in a high tackle on Ireland prop Andrew Porter.

In a similar mould to Owen Farrell’s tackle last week, Vunipola was initially shown a yellow card which was promptly upgraded to a red by the bunker referee.

For head coach Steve Borthwick, any potential suspension of Vunipola would be a significant blow given he is the only specialist number eight in the squad.

Billy Vunipola’s red card.

Zero mitigation and strange it was a yellow initially but this once again shows the effectiveness of the bunker.#IREvENG pic.twitter.com/CkXkGupRjL

— Philip Bendon (@PBendon) August 19, 2023