A World Cup miscellany

Lawes citing: England lock could miss rest of tournament

ENGLAND LOCK Courtney Lawes faces the possibility of missing the rest of England's campaign after being cited for allegedly striking Argentina hooker Mario Ledesma with his knee.

Lawes has been called to appear before a disciplinary hearing in Auckland for an offence which carries a guideline suspension of between three and 12 weeks, or matches in the World Cup context.

If Lawes is found guilty, judicial officer Terry Willis must then judge the entry level of the offence – the lowest being three weeks – and determine whether there are any mitigating or aggravating circumstances.

Lawes will be required to leave England’s Queenstown base to attend the hearing, which is due to begin at 3am (Irish time), where he will be represented by Richard Smith QC, the team’s travelling legal expert.

The Northampton lock was the first player to be cited at the tournament and it came after he collided with Ledesma, who appeared to be briefly knocked out, towards the end of the first half of England’s 13-9 victory.

Confirmation of the citing came after the 36-hour cut-off point but Rugby World Cup Ltd insisted there was nothing sinister in the delay.

Ioane out: for Irish match

AUSTRALIA ARE resigned to being without their in-form Queensland Reds speedster Digby Ioane for Saturday’s match against Ireland after scans confirmed the Wallabies winger sustained a fracture to his right thumb during Sunday’s 32-6 win over Italy.

He is expected to be available to play again later in the tournament, although the exact timelines on when he might be able to return will not be known until after the joint has been operated on. James O’Connor was always likely to return to the starting line-up in any case, while Robbie Deans also has the option of bringing in Drew Mitchell.

Official support: IRB back officials over penalty ruling

WORLD CUP organisers have backed the match officials who disallowed a seemingly on-target penalty by James Hook (right) in the South Africa v Wales match on Sunday, despite their failure to consult with the TV referee.

South Africa edged the Pool D clash 17-16, though Hook, his team-mates and thousands of fans felt they should have been awarded another three points after his 15th-minute penalty appeared to pass just inside the right upright.

Neither of the assistant referees, George Clancy of Ireland or New Zealand’s Vinny Munro, however, thought it was successful and stood motionless, indicating the attempt had missed. A dumbfounded Hook, who said afterwards he was sure he had been successful, made a gesture with his hands towards referee Wayne Barnes in the hope he would check with the TV official.

Barnes declined to check and South Africa went on to come from 16-10 down to snatch a late victory with a Francois Hougaard try.

The International Rugby Board said yesterday the officials had followed the correct procedure in determining whether to refer the penalty to the TV official for review.