Keven Mealamu cited for his tackle on Lewis Moody

Following the England v New Zealand match  (Saturday 6 November), the IRB appointed Citing Commissioner for the match, John West (Ireland), has cited the New Zealand player Keven Mealamu for an act contrary to Law 10.4a, striking with the head.

The IRB appointed Judicial Officer, Professor Lorne Crerar will hear the case at a date and venue to be confirmed.

1,  This November will see a total of 29 matches being played involving International touring sides in the Six Nations territories. All disciplinary and anti-doping arrangements are managed from the Six Nations office in Dublin, with the six Unions having, once again, delegated their duties under IRB Regulations 17 (Illegal and/or Foul Play and Misconduct) and 21 (Anti-Doping) to the Six Nations organisation.

2.  Those matches categorised as “Tier 1” internationals by the IRB will have IRB-appointed independent Citing Commissioners and independent single Judicial Officers whereas in all other matches, either involving a “Tier 2” nation or a non-international team, the Six Nations appoints an independent Citing Commissioner and the Chairman of the Six Nations Disciplinary Panel (Professor Lorne Crerar) will appoint an independent three-man disciplinary committee if a hearing is required.

3.  In all matches the Citing Commissioner has 48 hours from the end of the match in which to decide whether to cite a player. Hearings for red cards and any citingswill normally be held on the Tuesday or Wednesday following a weekend match.

Mealamu will face the minimum of a one-month ban if he is found guilty.  New Zealand head coach Graham Henry said: “He’s been cited for striking the head. It surprises me. He’s probably the cleanest player in the world isn’t he? It was purely accidental as far as I know.”

It is understood that Mealamu is to be the only player cited from the Twickenham clash.