EXCLUSIVE Charlie Ewels INTERVIEW: Bath star on an unwanted world record, a hot yoga craze and what Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta learned from a visit to England's rugby camp Charlie Ewels has picked up two red cards in his last two matches for England Join Mail+ to get ahead of the game with Rugby Confidential every Wednesday and Chris Foy's World of Rugby every Monday By Nik Simon Published: 07:04 EDT, 28 September 2024 | Updated: 07:36 EDT, 28 September 2024 e-mail 23 shares View comments Two red cards in two Test matches makes Charlie Ewels sound like someone from a young offenders list but the reality is far from it. When he was pulled aside by England’s in-house lawyer in the changing rooms of Tokyo’s National Stadium, he knew his tour was not going to end well. The 6ft6in lock had just become the first player to be sent off twice in as many Tests and, on second viewing, his reckless clear-out on Michael Leitch did not look good.
‘I watched it back in the changing room with the KC, Richard Smith, and thought, “Yeah, that’s a red card”,’ recalls Ewels. ‘I’ve never stepped onto a rugby pitch with any intention to hurt anybody but I got that one wrong. For about five seconds, the lads show they care about you, then rugby’s quite good at filling the gap with humour.
Aled Walters just put his arm around me and whispered into my ear: Imagine if you get a third!’ Ewels is not the menacing presence you would expect of someone with two red cards in two Tests.