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England centre Joseph given two-week suspension after breaking COVID rules

Jonathan Joseph has been removed from England's shadow squad after breaching COVID-19 guidelines. Photo by Dan Mullan - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images

England centre Jonathan Joseph has been handed a two-week suspension for breaching COVID-19 government rules.

Joseph and his Bath teammate Elliott Stooke, alongside Wasps' Gabriel Oghre were all charged by the RFU for "off-field infringements of the Government's National Covid-19 Rules and related to mixing of multiple households, with two players travelling to visit the third."

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Joseph was originally named in England's "Shadow Squad" for the Six Nations, a group of players who are subject to the same testing protocols, rules and regulations as the 28-man squad named by Jones for the championship.

Stooke, who is set to join Wasps next season according to ESPN sources, and Oghre have both been handed three-week suspensions.

The trio breached government regulations which states under lockdown rules, two or more households cannot mix. The RFU deemed their conduct to be "prejudicial to the interests" of the game.