England star Poppy Cleall banned for start of Women’s Six Nations after swearing at referee

England’s Poppy Cleall will miss the Red Roses’ Women’s Six Nations opener against Italy after receiving a two-match ban for swearing at a referee.

Cleall was found to have directed a swear word at official Nikki O’Donnell during Saracens’ Premiership Women’s Rugby win over Leicester on Sunday.

The number eight was shown a yellow card by O’Donnell late in the first half of the match at the StoneX Stadium after being tackled in a challenge that Cleall felt was high.

But that yellow card was upgraded after a disciplinary hearing, with a two-match ban levied. A further one match ban has been suspended provided Cleall performs a presentation to an age group side that “reinforces the core values of the sport and emphasises the need for good behaviour on the pitch”.

The ban follows a Rugby Football Union (RFU) crackdown on match official abuse in January which means stiffer sanctions for those found to have abused a referee or assistant. An automatic addition of two weeks must be added to the sanction for such incidents, and is not at the discretion of the disciplinary charge.

Cleall admitted to having sworn as “an instinctive reaction after the shock of being hit in the face”, but argued that it was “not aimed at the referee”. She received treatment for injury after the incident.

It is believed that the tackle in question was reviewed by the citing commissioner but not deemed to have met the red card threshold.

Cleall will thus miss Saracens’ trip to Bristol Bears this weekend and England’s tournament opener in Parma on Sunday 24 March.

The 31-year-old was left out of John Mitchell’s training squad in January but was named in a squad that assembled at St. George’s Park on Monday after reacting positively to her omission with a series of impressive performances.

The versatile Cleall has featured across the back row, at lock and at prop during her England career and could still push to feature in this year’s tournament.

Mitchell will name his squad for the Women’s Six Nations on Monday, with the group expected to resemble the training squad named earlier this week.

The new England head coach could be without Exeter’s Claudia MacDonald, who faces a scan on a neck injury. While the severity of the issue is not known, is an injury that will be of real concern for a player who was almost forced out of the sport in 2022 with a disc issue before making a sensational return ahead of the World Cup.

Exeter have been boosted by the return of Maddie Fe’aunati to their squad. The daughter of former Bath and Samoa back row Isaac “Zak” Fe’aunati was born in Leeds and therefore qualifies for the Red Roses.

Having begun the season with Susie Appleby’s Chiefs, Fe’aunati returned to New Zealand to take up a contract with Hurricanes Poua in Super Rugby, but has now rejoined the Exeter squad and is seen as a player of huge potential.

“We are delighted to be welcoming Maddie back to Chiefs,” Appleby said of the 21-year-old. “She is a very powerful carrier and has a huge appetite for learning. She also brings fantastic energy into the club. We can’t wait to see her.”