Luke Cowan-Dickie’s exoneration by an RFU disciplinary panel on Tuesday for a potentially dangerous high tackle on Tom Willis in last weekend’s Saracens v Sale Sharks match raises concerns that rugby union’s disciplinary process is being blighted by inconsistent rulings.

Given that the Sale and England hooker, whose 20-minute red card for foul/dangerous play following a corner-flagging tackle on Saracens No.8 Willis, was facing the possibility of being suspended for most of the autumn internationals, this hearing was a disciplinary version of “the full English”.
It featured England’s long-t...