Warrington Wolves and England captain George Williams wasn’t on the field last night when the controversial red card of Nu Brown was shown but he’s reacted to call it “embarrassing”.
Willams missed out on the clash against Hull FC with the Wolves’ playmaker unavailable due to an ankle injury but his side won handily without him.
That easy 36-10 victory came off the back of Hull FC going down to twelve just before half-time with Nu Brown sent off for accidental head contact, an incident that has sparked uproar from almost each and every fan of the sport.
Sky Sports pundit Jon Wilkin labelled it a “shambles” and a “mind-blowingly bad decision”, whilst host Brian Carney claimed that the sport is now facing an “existential threat” on account of these new rules.
As an explanation, Brown was the second man into the tackle on Warrington’s Ben Currie and as the forward went towards the ground it saw Brown spun around in the tackle and the two players clashed heads.
Despite relatively soft contact, there was enough impact to open up a nasty cut on Currie’s eye, the bleeding then alerting the officials to the idea that there could have been head contact with the play initially looking innocuous.
The incident, which has now promoted more calls for a union led by George Williams, can be seen at the bottom of this article.
“It’s time for us to unite” – George Williams reacts to shocking Hull FC red card
George Williams will have been watching from the sidelines when Nu Brown was shown red and he, like many others, probably couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
He’s now taken to social media to label the incident “embarrassing” and echo calls made by the likes of Alex Walmsley and Ryan Brierley for the sport to have a union.
Reposting footage of the incident, Williams said: “Embarrassing for our game. Players it’s time for us to unite, we need a voice within our game going forward!”
Embarrassing for our game.
Players it’s time for us to unite, we need a voice within our game going forward! https://t.co/JagxnjPngV— George Williams (@George7Williams) February 23, 2024
Whilst previous talk of a union has come from respected senior players within Super League such as Walmsley and Brierley, the impact of the England captain calling for action is monumental.
George Williams also has the ear of England head coach Shaun Wane who could also hold a lot of sway with the RFL and respect among players.
Talk of a union last week might have been reactionary but after a second massively controversial send-off, and the disciplinary charges off the back of it, still to come then this could be a huge watershed moment.
It’s a worrying time to be a rugby league fan and that’s a sad statement because the off-field work around the TV deal, the wider promotion of the game, and the excitement of a World Club Challenge on English shores is all absolutely massive, but decisions like this on-field will turn off fans at a rapid rate.
IT'S RED! 🟥
Nu Brown has been sent off! pic.twitter.com/Fi4vJvVyFw
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) February 23, 2024
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