Australia flanker Michael Hooper has been cited for alleged foul play during the Wallabies’ 33-13 victory over England at Twickenham on Saturday.
World Rugby announced that Hooper has been reported by independent citing commissioner Steve Hinds for allegedly “charging into a ruck or maul without use of the arms or grasping the player”.
Hooper will now face a disciplinary hearing in London on Tuesday.
The incident happened just before half-time when Hooper challenged England full-back Mike Brown.
Australia’s win dumped England out of the World Cup, and Hooper played a pivotal role in setting up a Pool A decider against Wales at Twickenham next Saturday.
Alongside David Pocock and Scott Fardy, Hooper is part of arguably the tournament’s most effective back row, but his participation against Wales — and possibly beyond that — could now be in doubt.
Sanctions for charging range from a two-week ban at the lower end of the scale, through to five weeks if it is classed as mid-range, or 10 weeks and above if viewed as a top-end offence.
In a statement, World Rugby said: “Michael Hooper has been cited by independent citing commissioner Steve Hinds (New Zealand) for an alleged act of foul play contrary to law 10.4 (h) (charging into a ruck or maul without use of the arms or grasping the player) during the 39th minute of the Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool A match between England and Australia on Saturday, October 3.
“The hearing will take place at 10.00 on Tuesday, October 6th at the offices of RWC official law firm Clifford Chance in London. The case will be heard by independent judicial officer Alan Hudson (Canada).”
Praise
Wales flanker Justin Tipuric has hailed Australia’s “pretty special back row” ahead of the World Cup group decider between the countries.
Tipuric, who could be on course for a start against Australia, has no doubt how big a challenge the Wallabies’ breakaway trio will present.
“It’s a pretty special back row,” Tipuric said. “Their number six (Fardy) doesn’t get enough credit. He does a lot of the donkey work.
“Whoever plays there (back row) for them, they have strength in depth no matter what.
“The breakdown is a strength for them, and we need to make sure we look after that ball. You are up against the best with Australia, and it’s going to be a good test.”
Reflecting on Australia’s 33-13 demoliton of England that sent Chris Robshaw’s men through the World Cup exit door, Tipuric added: “Australia looked in control of it the whole time. They played to their strengths and their set-piece was on fire.
“I didn’t expect that much of a margin, but we all know Australia’s strengths.
“It showed in the game how good they were in the breakdown. I didn’t expect their set-piece to be that good, especially the scrum. They were dominant. England are known for their set-piece, but Australia played really well.”
Wales head coach Warren Gatland is not due to announce his starting line-up for the Wallabies Test until Thursday, but it would be no surprise if he made changes following last week’s punishing encounter against Fiji.
Changes
Gatland said: “We just have to assess how battered these players are and where there bodies are. We need to decide whether we put them in next weekend or keep them for the following week.
“We will look and see what happens over the next couple of days in terms of selection.
“We do have other options, and depending on what style of game we want to play and what sort of game-plan we want will influence us in terms of the few changes we do make.
“Potentially, whoever we do play in the quarter-finals — whether it’s South Africa, Scotland or Japan — we have had some success.
“We lost in the last Test in Japan in 2013 when I was on Lions duty. But we have had pretty good success in the last eight years against Scotland, and winning that game against South Africa last autumn was a huge milestone for us.”
