Bath And England Flanker Sam Underhill Banned For High Tackle And Will Miss Rest Of Domestic Season

In a major blow for Bath, Sam Underhill has been banned for four weeks for a dangerous tackle in his side’s European Challenge Cup final victory against Lyon. 

Underhill received a yellow card in the 26th minute of last Friday’s final for a head-on-head collision with Lyon’s Davit Niniashvili.

But the England international was cited for the incident on Monday, with an independent judging the incident worthy of a red card.

This means that the 28-year-old will miss Bath’s final regular-season Premiership fixture against Saracens on Saturday.

He will also be unavailable for their semi-final on Friday, 6 June.

There are still plenty of Premiership Rugby permutations, but Bath are assured of a home semi-final and are favourites to win the title.

Were Bath to make it to the final on 14 June, he would miss that match too.

And with England’s summer tour, Underhill’s ban would see him miss games against (21 June) and possibly Argentina (5 July).

Horrible news for Bath 😅

They will be without Sam Underhill for the Prem play-offs after he received a ban for his head-on-head against Lyon.

Will Bath be fine without the star flanker? pic.twitter.com/xheUsfW3bs

— BallCarrier (@BallCarrier_) May 28, 2025

Sam Underhill Banned Despite On-Field Yellow Card

During the match against Lyon, referee Hollie Davidson and the television match official judged the tackle from Underhill on Niniashvili to be worth only a yellow card.

This was because the officials agreed that a late change in direction from the Lyon fullback was a mitigating factor, reducing the level of foul play from Underhill.

But the citing did not agree. They deemed Underhill’s actions to meet the red card threshold.

During Tuesday’s disciplinary hearing, Underhill accepted he had committed an act of foul play, but did not agree that it warranted a red card.

Sam Underhill receives a yellow card for a head-on-head collision 🟨

He apologises to Davit Niniashvili as he leaves the field 🤝 pic.twitter.com/0LZm3HZCyq

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) May 23, 2025

The judged the offence as mid-range, with an initial six-week ban reduced to four due to Underhill’s remorse.

However, they could not lower the sanction any further due to the player’s prior disciplinary record.

Underhill was sent off in April for a high tackle in Bath’s Challenge Cup round-of-sixteen victory against Pau.

Why Is Sam Underhill Not In The England Squad?

It’s been a difficult period for Sam Underhill over the last few years.

He has struggled with injuries, and missed this year’s Six Nations due to an ankle problem,

Underhill suffered the injury in Bath’s 35-34 defeat to Northampton on 5 January, and required surgery to fix the issue.

This not only meant he missed the Six Nations, but also scuppered any chance of him making the British and Irish Lions squad announced earlier this month.

At his best and fully fit, Underhill is a safe bet to make any England squad, and would be expected to start most games alongside Sale Sharks’ Tom Curry.

But while Curry excelled in the Six Nations and was rewarded with a Lions call-up, Underhill has only recently returned to club action with Bath.

In his absence, fellow England back rowers Ben Earl and 20-year-old breakout star Henry Pollock have secured their place on the plane to Australia with the Lions.

Sam Underhill Injury Record

Injuries are a part of rugby, and one all players must accept.

But Sam Underhill has has been particularly unlucky when it comes to injury struggles.

The back rower has a history of ankle problems. His most recent ankle issue was his third in seven months, keeping him out for most of the season.

In 2021, a hip injury made him miss the Six Nations with England, while a shoulder problem ruled him out of the 2022 Autumn test series.

Underhill ruptured a tendon in his big toe in 2018, ending his season. And he required shoulder surgery in 2017, as well as missing a large chunk of the 2016 season with concussion.

To date, Sam Underhill has 41 England caps, but has been limited to just 13 appearances for Bath this season.