Bite row rocks Tigers as England prop Cole faces disciplinary hearing over incident

By Chris Foy

PUBLISHED: 10:07 EST, 8 September 2013 | UPDATED: 17:24 EST, 8 September 2013

England prop Dan Cole was embroiled in a biting incident on Sunday that leaves the England and Leicester prop facing the threat of a disciplinary hearing.

The incident came midway through the second-half when TV footage led to suggestions of foul play, as the 26-year-old tighthead was tackled by Worcester fly half Ignacio Mieres.

The Argentine’s hand went across and into Cole’s mouth and after the pair crashed to the ground, Mieres was seen to pull his hand away, seemingly in pain. Blood was later visible on his fingers.

Intent? Leicester's Dan Cole's alleged bite on Worcester fly-half Ignacio Mieres

Ouch: Mieres hand was in Cole's mouth but the prop may have had no intention of causing any harm

Replays suggested the Leicester No 3 — who doesn’t wear a gum shield — may have bitten his opponent, although the initial assessment of commentators who studied the incident was that it looked accidental.

While Mieres reportedly complained at the time, Worcester director of rugby Dean Ryan denied any knowledge of the matter.

Cole is understood to be astounded by the allegation, insisting that it was an accident. He will find out by Tuesday evening if citing commissioner Peter Larter considers that the case warrants further investigation.

If he is cited, the issue of intent will be a major factor. If he were to be found guilty of biting, the potential punishment would be severe.

England hooker Dylan Hartley was banned for eight weeks last year for biting Ireland’s Stephen Ferris. A similar suspension for Cole could jeopardise involvement in autumn Tests against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand at Twickenham. The minimum sanction is 12 weeks.

Fine start: David Mele received man of the match on his try-scoring debut

Scramble: Anthony Allen of Leicester Tigers and Chris Pennell of Worcester Warriors battle for the ball

England head coach Stuart Lancaster was watching at Welford Road and will hope his premier tighthead does not face any action.

There were just six seconds left when Vereniki Goneva conjured a glorious solo try to launch Leicester’s Aviva Premiership campaign with a bonus-point victory. The Fijian wing’s dramatic and timely intervention spared the Tigers from a post- mortem into their failure to finish off vulnerable visitors after establishing a 25-3 lead.

Worcester rallied with two tries and were in the hunt for a losing bonus point until Goneva’s slaloming strike brought the house down.

The champions took charge in the first half, inspired by No 8 Jordan Crane. Yet a number of the Warriors in white impressed as the visitors refused to go quietly.

Crucial: Vereniki Goneva scored a bonus-point try for the hosts

Flanker Sam Betty was a forceful presence at the breakdown and in defence, and full back Chris Pennell imperious with his aerial presence and decision-making.

Sadly, the new scrum edicts led to a shambolic set-piece encounter. Referee Luke Pearce struggled to bring order, despite setting his stall out with free-kicks against both scrum halves for crooked feeds.

After Ryan Lamb’s first penalty, Leicester surged ahead when Adam Thompstone latched on to Niall Morris’s astute low kick to cross in the left corner. Lamb and Mieres then landed a kick apiece before the Tigers struck a telling blow before the break.

Crane burst through a ruck into the Worcester 22 and delivered a sensational tumbling off-load to tee up debutant scrum half David Mele.

Lamb converted and did so again early in the second half, after a lineout catch and drive routine in the right corner ended with the home pack forcing Crane over.

Spectacular: The Red Arrows fly above the ground

Yet, back came the Warriors, with Josh Matavesi’s break laying the platform for Chris Jones’s close-range try, before the big centre touched down after an audacious dummy created a gap in midfield.

However, Leicester ramped up their quest for the bonus point and Goneva clinched it in style.

‘We let them stifle us at times, but we got our composure back at the end,’ said Tigers coach Paul Burke.

Ryan was annoyed by Pearce’s decision to sin-bin lock Mike Williams for a body-check on Lamb.

He said: ‘I’d forgotten that we can’t make any contact with the Leicester No 10 — every time we went near him we got penalised. The yellow card was harsh.’

Ashamed: Mike Williams reacts to his sin-bin