How mid-season international will get player back for crunch league clash

Players will once again be able to use international matches to serve suspensions earned in domestic games, as we previously saw at the World Cup.

There was controversy ahead of the tournament when then Wigan back-rower John Bateman was selected for England Knights, which enabled him to serve one-game of a ban picked up playing in Super League and therefore make him available for more England matches during the World Cup.

Several NRL stars, including Tonga captain Jason Taumalolo sat out early World Cup games following bans picked up in Australia towards the end of the league season.

Morgan Knowles will be back in four for Saints

The disciplinary has hit the headlines again this week with sizeable bans handed out to St Helens forward Morgan Knowles and Warrington prop Gil Dudson.

Both received five-match bans – Knowles for a so-called hip-drop tackle on Mike Cooper, which ended the Wigan forward’s season, and Dudson for a punch on Catalans winger Tom Johnstone as he lay on the floor in a tackle.

Knowles will only now miss four St Helens matches, as he will be able to use the England international against France at the end of April towards his ban.

That means he will be back in time for St Helens’ Challenge Cup tie for the weekend of May 20/21, which he would have otherwise missed. The games he will miss for Saints are the trips to Hull KR and Catalans, as well as the home games against Warrington and Salford.

Unfortunately, Dudson doesn’t have the same luxury of using an international match towards his ban – as Wales are not in action. However, there have been some suggestions that reserve matches on that weekend could be used towards suspensions as there is no first team action, though that remains unconfirmed.

Dudson’s ban means that in his last four appearances in Super League, he has earned a total of eight games suspended. In his final appearance for Catalans in 2022, he received a three-match ban for a red card in their play-off defeat to Leeds.

That effectively ruled him out of Wales’ World Cup campaign, as he served the ban in the international window, which made him available to start the season with new club Warrington.

As it turned out, injury prevented him from taking to the field until the round six win away at Castleford.

As things stand, Dudson will miss Warrington’s Super League games against Wigan, St Helens, Wakefield and Hull KR, as well as their Challenge Cup sixth round tie.

Championship player to return for top of the table clash

Toulouse expressed their bemusement earlier this week that prop Lambert Belmas had his seven-match ban for ‘attacking the testicles’ of Bradford player Tom Holmes upheld.

Belmas pleaded his innocence, but the Grade F charge stood, ruling him out for several weeks.

He served the first match of that ban last weekend when London visited Toulouse, despite the incident occurring at the end of February. He has since turned out three times for the French side in the Championship.

His inclusion in the France squad for the mid-season international against England means that the international will count as one of the games towards his ban.

That means Belmas will now be able to return to the Toulouse line-up for their crunch top of the table clash against Featherstone on June 10.

The former Catalans and Lezignan front-rower, who already has six caps for France, will of course have to sit out the international at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

He will also miss Toulouse’s Championship games away at Keighley, Swinton, Batley and London, as well as the home game against Halifax.

Should international matches count towards domestic bans and vice versa?

The inconsistent nature of international matches and the fact that it only applies to a select number of players should mean that they do not come in to play for serving suspensions.

By the same token, Super League clubs shouldn’t be punished if a player of theirs picks up a ban while playing for England or any other nation.

Dudson was effectively forced to sit out a World Cup and representing his country due to a suspension picked up playing in Super League, and Wales were punished for something outside of their control.

Some might argue that the gap between international games makes suspensions from those games pointless, but that’s a separate issue. A suspension earned playing for England should be served for an England game, nothing else.

Likewise, friendlies and reserve games should not be permitted to count towards bans either. If there is a concern about discrepancies in fixture lists, then perhaps having timescales on suspensions on domestic bans would be better – e.g. five weeks rather than five games.