England red card after just 82 seconds stuns angry Twickenham crowd in Ireland match

There was a hugely dramatic start to today’s Six Nations clash between England and Ireland at Twickenham with a sending off after just 82 seconds.

English second row Charlie Ewels was red carded for head on head contact with his opposite number James Ryan ad he went in to tackle the Leinster lock.

After reviewing the video footage, French referee Mathieu Raynal decided there were no mitigating factors, so dismissed the Bath forward amid loud Twickenham boos.

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Raynal said: “He’s upright, he runs the risk, he’s led with the head, we’ve got a clear head contact.

“It’s a high speed, high degree of danger. So I have no option, I will go with a red card.”

Former England and Lions star Lawrence Dallaglio gave his take on the incident on commentary for ITV.

“I think Mathieu Raynal made it very clear he had no option but to give a red card,” he said.

“It’s very unfortunate, the crowd don’t like it, but the way the game is refereed, there was no mitigation in the eyes of the referee.

“It’s a head on head collision. The ref has been strong.”

A bloodied Ryan had to leave the field after the incident.

Speaking on BBC Radio, former England and Lions scrum-half Matt Dawson said: “It was a red card all day long.

“As much as my phone is lighting up with people angry that it’s ruined the game, there was no mitigation whatsover.”

Viewers at home also took a different view to the Twickenham crowd.

Jonathan Davies described it as a "poor tackle" while fans went further.

One wrote: “Charlie Ewels should not be seen in an England shirt for a long time. Absolutely thrown this game out the window.”