Malherbe cleared of biting
World Rugby (formerly IRB) is satisfied that no biting incident occurred in Wednesday’s Rugby World Cup match between South Africa and the USA.
This comes after an English tabloid suggested that Springbok prop Frans Malherbe could be in hot water after seemingly biting an American player.
Images and an article published on the Daily Mail website in the UK shows Malherbe with his mouth on the upper arm of American lock Matt Trouville.
It's hard to determine exactly what happened in the photograph taken by Sportsmail's Kevin Quigley, but the article said that the photograph "appears to show Springbok prop Frans Malherbe sinking his teeth into the shoulder of American lock Matt Trouville."
World Rugby issued the following statement regarding the incident on Thursday:
“Independent Citing Commissioner Peter Larter (England) is satisfied that no alleged biting incident occurred during the Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool B match between South Africa and USA on October 7.
“Mr Larter’s determination follows a detailed review of all video footage, an absence of a team referral and proactive dismissal by the USA team of claims made via social media that a South Africa player bit a USA player during the match. This matter highlights the need to exercise caution in respect of claims based on two-dimensional images."
Jacasport/World Rugby