Six Nations Championship: England's head coach Andy Robinson faces a dressing-room ban for his team's final two Six Nations Championship matches as Twickenham yesterday launched an investigation into his comments about the South African referee Jonathan Kaplan in the wake of Sunday's defeat to Ireland in Dublin.
And if that ignominious possibility was not enough for Robinson to digest last night, then more bad news accompanied it with the loss of skipper Jason Robinson for remaining Six Nations matches with Italy and Scotland later this month.
Full-back Robinson suffered ligament damage to his right thumb during England's 19-13 defeat in Dublin. He will undergo surgery tomorrow and could be sidelined for five weeks.
Leicester forwards Ben Kay and Martin Corry, together with Wasps scrumhalf Matt Dawson, now appear the only realistic candidates to lead England through the wreckage of a Six Nations campaign destroyed by three successive defeats.
Andy Robinson is likely to be joined in the dock by Colin High, the Rugby Football Union's refereeing performance director who this week was also quoted making a number of derogatory remarks about Kaplan's performance.
If the RFU's chief disciplinary officer, Jeff Blackett, decides their comments brought the game into disrepute, he will initiate disciplinary proceedings.
"I want to resolve this as quickly as possible, certainly before England's next international against Italy next week," said Blackett. "While the RFU's range of regulations will apply in exactly the same manner as they would to a club coach or official, the method of dispersal will be different because we are dealing with Union employees."
Last week the Northampton head coach Budge Pountney was fined £2,000 and banned from the dugout and dressing room for a month on match days after criticising the referee Steve Lander. Robinson sits in the stand at Twickenham, but being excluded from the dressing room would be more than an inconvenience.
If Robinson is charged with bringing the game into disrepute, it is more likely to reflect what he was reported to have said on Monday rather than immediately after the match.
"I have spoken to the Six Nations and their view is that what Andy said to the media straight after the game did not constitute a breach of their protocol," said Blackett. "It may be a case of deciding whether any comments he later made were prejudicial to the interests of the game."
Robinson said in a television interview immediately after the match that he was "spitting and livid", but did not accuse Kaplan of costing England the match. In a press conference later, he bemoaned the fact that the official had not called on the video referee to determine whether Josh Lewsey had grounded the ball minutes from the end. The following day he was reported as saying: "Only one side was refereed."
The RFU yesterday dropped plans to make an official complaint about Kaplan. They will confine their criticisms to a form provided by the IRB, one which England have never needed to use before.
