England prop Joe Marler has been cited for striking Wales prop Rob Evans during their Triple Crown victory on Saturday.
Marler is alleged to have broken Law 10.4 (a), which applies to punching or striking, stating: "a player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow, shoulder, head or knee(s)".
The Harlequins loosehead appeared to land a forearm/elbow in the face of Evans while trying to help his team-mate Dan Cole ground the ball over the Welsh try-line.
The offence carries a minimum sanction of two weeks and the 25-year-old will appear before a Six Nations disciplinary hearing this week.
The outcome almost certainly to rule him out of the Saturday’s Grand Slam decider match against France.
A Six Nations statement read: “Joe Marler, the England prop forward, has been cited by the independent citing commissioner, for allegedly striking an opponent in the 15th minute of the first half of the RBS 6 Nations match between England and Wales at Twickenham on Saturday 12 March 2016. Law 10.4 (a) applies – Punching or Striking. A player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow, shoulder, head or knee(s).
"This citing of Joe Marler follows the citing of Tomas Francis and the Citing Commissioner Warning issued to James Haskell, each from the same match, which were announced yesterday evening following the citing commissioner’s initial review of the match.
“The citing commissioner continued his review of the match overnight and considered that the incident in the 15th minute involving Mr Marler should also be the subject of a citing (the relevant disciplinary rules provide that the deadline for citing complaints is ordinarily 48 hours after the end of the match in question).
“A disciplinary hearing for the player will be held later this week, before an independent Six Nations disciplinary committee of three.”
The incident of verbal abuse, in which Marler called Samson Lee “gypsy boy”, is still under investigation and the citing officer has 48 hours after the final whistle to file a complaint.
Verbal abuse of a player based on religion, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation or otherwise carries a minimum sanction of a four-week suspension.
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