Jamie Peacock has been cleared to play in Saturday's Gillette Fusion international against France. The England captain and Sam Burgess, the Bradford Bulls forward, had the threat of suspension hanging over them lifted yesterday.
The RFL's match review panel found that the pair had no case to answer - Peacock for an alleged high tackle on Greg Bird, the Catalans Dragons captain, in Leeds Rhinos' 32-30 defeat on Saturday and Burgess for his role in a brief fracas during Bradford's 36-22 victory over Wakefield Wildcats on Sunday.
However, Tony Smith, the England coach, drafted in Joe Westerman in time for the 19-year-old Castleford Tigers loose forward to join the squad on their flight to Paris after the withdrawal of Sean O'Loughlin, the Wigan Warriors captain.
Westerman, the 2008 engage Super League young player of the year, could be one of four England debutants alongside Scott Moore, the Huddersfield Giants hooker, Ryan Hall, the Leeds wing, and Sam Tomkins, the Wigan stand-off.
England are injury-free otherwise, with Ryan Atkins, the Wakefield centre, set to win his third cap, despite missing the match against Bradford with a slight shoulder problem.
Bobbie Goulding, the France coach, will name his side tomorrow and is hoping to persuade Christophe Moly, the Carcassonne half back, who had ruled himself out because of “exhaustion”, to play in a side that will be jointly captained by the Catalans pair of Jérôme Guisset and Olivier Elima.
Widnes Vikings, the Co-operative Championship club, have suspended two unnamed players for a week pending an investigation into an incident in a bar in the town. “I would like to apologise to the owners, staff and customers of Bar Reef, as well as to the police, who were called to deal with the incident,” Terry O'Connor, the Vikings sporting director, said. “We will not tolerate behaviour of this kind.”
Source:The times
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