The Munster flanker had to take a knee.
48 minutes into Munster’s hard-fought Champions Cup victory over Leicester Tigers, on Sunday, and Chris Cloete showed some serious wheels. Manu Tuilagi was quickly on hand to put him to ground, however.
The South African was in the midst of another fine performance when he was forced to dart back in pounce of a loose ball. Conor Murray’s grubber for Simon Zebo had been intercepted and passed on to Tigers winger Jonny May, who then stepped two men and hacked the ball up-field.
Cloete spun on his heels and was the first back to slide onto the bobbling ball, outpacing Munster backs Rory Scannell and Alex Wootton:
Cloete shrugged May off but was soon on the deck after a thunderous hit from Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi.
Munster’s work at the breakdown ensured they kept possession and, two phases later, Zebo was kicking the ball to touch.
Once the ball was out of play, and with Munster prop Dave Kilcoyne down for treatment, Cloete took a knee. It was clear that he was shook and, looking back at the footage, it is no surprise why. Tuilagi went very high on the hit and Cloete’s head rocked back before he hit the turf.
Cloete battled on before he was withdrawn from the fray on 67 minutes.
Two days on and the EPCR has confirmed Tuilagi has been cited for a tackle it deems to be allegedly dangerous.
The England international is due in London on Wednesday to explain his actions as the EPCR state that the tackle could be in contravention of World Rugby Law 10.4 (e) on tackles. A low-end entry would see Tuilagi banned for two weeks while the worst possible, high-end sanction range between 10 and 52 weeks.
Leinster and Ireland prop Cian Healy has also been cited for his alleged strike to the head of Exeter Chiefs hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie in his side’s 22-17 Champions Cup victory at the Aviva Stadium, on Saturday.
