Grewcock’s tour place in jeopardy

DANNY GREWCOCK’S England tour prospects are hanging in the balance after Bath decided not to appeal against his sending-off for punching Lawrence Dallaglio.

The Bath skipper will start a two-week ban next Sunday 24 hours before England fly to New Zealand.

England boss Clive Woodward has selected Grewcock in his 37-man squad for Tests against New Zealand on June 14 and world champions Australia seven days later, plus a June 9 appointment with New Zealand Maori at New Plymouth.

But Grewcock is now only available for the Wallabies clash, which could result in Woodward reconsidering his plans, although there will be no announcement either way until later today , at the earliest.

When Woodward revealed the squad at Twickenham earlier yesterday, he probably anticipated a Bath appeal, but a protest has been scrapped on red tape grounds.

Bath say that European Rugby Cup Limited have advised them that it is unlikely an appeal hearing could be convened before next Monday, when England depart.

Woodward has already said that if Grewcock does not travel, then Leeds lock Tom Palmer would replace him, joining fellow locks Martin Johnson, Ben Kay, Simon Shaw and Steve Borthwick.

An ERC spokesman added: "Appeal hearings are always heard as soon as possible, but there is no guarantee that it would have been heard before June 2."

Grewcock was sent off after raining blows on Dallaglio, who was at the bottom of a ruck, in the Parker Pen Challenge Cup final, a game that Wasps won 48-30.

It was Grewcock's second red card of the season, although he saw a five-week ban quashed after a Rugby Football Union appeal panel found him not guilty of kicking Saracens scrum-half Kyran Bracken during a Zurich Premiership game last September.

He also saw red during England's defeat against New Zealand in Dunedin five years ago, being dismissed for kicking All Blacks hooker Anton Oliver. It earned him a five-week ban. Woodward claimed that, in his opinion, Grewcock's actions at the Madejski Stadium did not warrant a sending-off.

"I've watched the incident, and I personally don't think it was a red card situation," Woodward claimed, who also said that he might still take on Grewcock on tour, even if he was only available for one game.

"I don't see Danny as a liability." "What he did wasn't the brightest thing to do, but it wasn't a sending-off offence."

Woodward named three uncapped players in the squad Wasps pair Stuart Abbott and Paul Volley, together with Gloucester flanker Andy Hazell for the three-week trip.

Elsewhere, Woodward has summoned his RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam heroes, but others hoping to make an impression Down Under include fit-again Bath back Iain Balshaw, Wasps fly-half Alex King and Leicester back-row forward Martin Corry.

Injuries ruled out Austin Healey, Ollie Smith, Charlie Hodgson, Julian White, Lewis Moody, Alex Sanderson, James Forrester, Adam Vander, Tom May and Maurice Fitzgerald either for Woodward's tour or the Churchill Cup squad.

Meanwhile, the versatile Chris Paterson will get the chance to stake his claim for Scotland's number 10 World Cup jersey today.

Coach Ian McGeechan has chosen Paterson to fill the pivotal role in the end-of-season meeting with the Barbarians at Murrayfield.

The player has never made a secret of the fact that outside-half is his favourite position and many observers reckon the switch could help solve Scotland's back-line problems.

McGeechan said: "We don't have blinding pace behind the scrum, so we have to try to create something different.