Saracens’ Owen Farrell will be free to join up with England after avoiding citation for a high tackle on England teammate Anthony Watson in Saturday’s Premiership Final.

He has been given an official warning instead and can now join up with Stuart Lancaster’s side in preparation for this autumn’s World Cup on June 22.

Red Rose coach Stuart Lancaster has already banned Dylan Hartley and Manu Tuilagi for disciplinary issues.

The fly-half scored 18 points as the Men in Black were crowned Premiership champions at Twickenham on Saturday but drew strong criticism for a sixth-minute challenge on Bath’s Watson.

Referee Wayne Barnes awarded a penalty against Sarries but no further action was taken and Farrell evaded further punishment after the 24-hour citation period elapsed.

Asked for his view on the challenge, Bath director of rugby Mike Ford was unimpressed: "There's big concern to be honest and I've spoken to (referee) Wayne Barnes about it.

"It was an illegal challenge square on the nose and we lost one of our best players. The other guy stayed on and got man of the match.”

Opposite number Mark McCall refused to be drawn on the incident, however: "I probably haven't had as close an inspection of it as Mike Ford has, so I don't really know.”

Citing officer Mike Rafter felt the challenge was deserving of an official warning, which is somewhere between a yellow and red card and three warnings trigger further disciplinary proceedings.