Grewcock wins appeal over ban for kicking Bracken

Every picture tells a story and last night the one told by freelance photographer Stephen Mitchell, of Basingstoke, was enough to help get Danny Grewcock off his five-week ban and free him to play for Bath in their crucial West Country derby against Gloucester at the Recreation Ground tomorrow.

Grewcock was last night cleared by a Rugby Football Union appeal panel, sitting in Bloomsbury in Central London, of reckless use of the boot in the Zurich Premiership match between Bath and Saracens at the beginning of this month.

Last night, as he left after the two-hour hearing, a relieved Grewcock said: "I am absolutely delighted with the outcome. I'd like to thank all those who have given me support, notably Kyran Bracken and Steve Mitchell.

"Unfortunately the video did not show the whole of the incident. Thankfully the photographs show what could not be seen in the video.

"I can now put this behind me and concentrate on the Zurich Premiership match with Gloucester at the Rec on Saturday."

Grewcock had been handed the ban nine days ago but immediately lodged the appeal and Commander Jeff Blackett, the chief advocate of the Royal Navy, who chaired last night's hearing said: "We heard evidence we didn't hear at the original hearing from a freelance photographer showing Danny Grewcock being pinned down, which is in contravention of earlier testimony, when he was on his back.

"We have no evidence that Danny Grewcock did it. It could have been one of a number of people. The independent photographer said he also saw a Saracens' boot hitting Kyran Bracken's head."

Grewcock and his victim Bracken, a former Saracens colleague, had been trapped at the bottom of a ruck and the England lock claimed he had kicked out in an effort to free himself from the tangle of bodies and had inadvertently caught Bracken on the side of his jaw.

The resultant gash had needed stitches but the England scrum-half Bracken continued after the interval. Grewcock, however, was shown a red card after referee Steve Leyshon, of Bristol, had consulted with his touch judge Ashley Rowden, a qualified referee.

Bracken had indicated that he would speak up in Grewcock's defence, but had been unable to appear at the original disciplinary hearing.

The verdict wrapped up a triple whammy against the RFU yesterday. They had already been clobbered by the IRB and were forced to cancel a planned press conference next week at which they had intended making public the details of England's bid to stage the Rugby World Cup 2007. That decision would have left the RFU fuming. The press conference had been on the calendar at 1 October for the best part of a month, but it was only yesterday that the IRB made their bizarre decision. And then they also had to duck some sporadic shots from England's leading clubs in the row over the match on 30 November between the two hemispheres continued to smoulder.

Ireland will be without their charismatic captain Keith Wood, who has a neck injury, for tomorrow's World Cup qualifier against Georgia in Dublin.