RUGBY: In what has become the main defence mechanism to the threat of disciplinary procedures in the European Cup, Sale Sharks have counter-cited Leinster second-row Ben Gissing for foul play.

The Sale hooker, Andy Titterrell, already cited by Leinster, has a more serious case to answer after television replays clearly showed him stamping on the head of Eric Miller. Gissing can also be seen using his boot heavily in a ruck, yet it was far less pronounced.

That clubs consistently engage in these tit-for-tat tactics could be averted if the ERC brought in the procedures used at the World Cup, when an independent citing commissioner was present to review all incidents, as opposed to leaving it up to those involved.

The ERC have contemplated such a move but have yet to introduce it to the competition due to cost and a lack of resources: up to 28 qualified individuals would be required every week during the group stages. The same obstacles present themselves regarding the use of a video referee, yet this procedure is adopted from the quarter-final stages onwards.

The cases of Gissing and Titterrell have gone before the ERC chairman of discipline, Prof Lorne Grear, and a three-man panel (from neutral countries), along with a date for the hearing, are expected to be named today.

"The players can play while awaiting their case to be heard, as they are innocent until proven guilty," said ERC spokesman Diarmuid Murphy. "However, the ERC will endeavour to hold the hearing before they do play again."

Meanwhile, Pablo Lemoine, the Stade Francais prop sent off in the Pool One match against Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade, has been suspended for six weeks. Lemoine was shown the red card for head-butting.

On the Leinster injury front, Brian O'Driscoll has begun rehabilitation on his right hamstring, yet he is still set to be a casualty for four to six weeks. He was optimistic yesterday he would be fit for the Six Nations game against France on February 14th.

The more immediate concerns surround the availability of Christian Warner and Gordon D'Arcy.

The prognosis looks positive for Warner as his quad strain has improved significantly. D'Arcy, a key attacking force for the province due to the absence of Denis Hickie and O'Driscoll, bruised his back in the closing stages of last Friday's match, but he looks likely to be available for Sunday's season-defining trip to Sale.

"People say to qualify you have to win at home, but the away games are just as vital," said coach Gary Ella. "We are expecting both players to be available, but we will not be naming a side until Thursday afternoon to ensure they have as much time as possible.

"We have another chance - and this time we need to get it right. We have to go to Sale and be positive, to play good rugby while being more patient. We were forcing things last Friday, going for it without the necessary build-up.

"The defeat was something of a combination of them playing well and us playing poorly. They attacked us from the start and we have never lost that amount of our own lineout ball in a single game. In the end we only played as well as they allowed us to play."

Meanwhile, Connacht's three absentees from their 29-7 victory over Pau (Damian Browne, Paul Neville and Mark McHugh) are all expected to recover for the return leg of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup this weekend. McHugh was only pulled from the starting XV last Friday after failing to recover from a dead leg. Coach Michael Bradley will name a team today.

Munster's only injury worry is Marcus Horan, who had to retire early from their defeat to Gloucester last Saturday with a back complaint. However, it is not deemed too serious.

Coach Alan Gaffney believes his side needs to win all three remaining games to stand a chance of maintaining their proud record of reaching the knock-out stages for the past five seasons. Defeat at Kingsholm may have been his side's first defeat in Pool Five, but it put them five points behind Gloucester.

"The only good point for us was that we matched Gloucester try for try. Other than that we had no real answer to them.

"We have to win (the) three games now, because I don't think four (wins) will be enough to win the Pool. I think we are good enough to do that."