The France prop Franck Tournaire faces a suspension stretching into years rather than weeks after being cited for allegedly biting an opponent's cheek during his side's semi-final victory over New Zealand at Twickenham last Sunday.
Tournaire, whose Toulouse team-mate and fellow France prop Christian Califano was banned for 50 days for head-butting his opposite number Joeli Veitayaki in the group match against Fiji last month, will today appear before a disciplinary committee chaired by Neil Bidder, QC.
International Rugby Board guidelines lay down a ban of between one and three years for players found guilty of biting. In 1994 the South Africa prop Johan Roux was suspended for two years for biting the ear of the New Zealand hooker Sean Fitzpatrick.
Tournaire was called to account by last Sunday's citing commissioner, the South African lawyer Pieter Nieumens, who cited the Wales flanker Colin Charvis and the Argentina prop Roberto Grau for fighting in the opening match of the tournament. Both were suspended.
New Zealand did not make a formal complaint to Nieumens and they last night refused to say who the alleged victim was. The prop Craig Dowd was the closest to Tournaire when the alleged incident happened during the first half and he was seen remonstrating with the Frenchman after getting to his feet. The sound camera is reported to have picked up a complaint from a New Zealander to the referee Jim Fleming: "He's chewing him."
