Moody may face mouthgard fine

England captain Lewis Moody will be fined £4800 if he is found to have worn a branded mouthguard in Saturday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat by France, the IRB has said.

Tournament officials are very strict on any breaches of the commercial regulations and they have already fined Moody’s England team-mate Manu Tuilagi and the latter’s brother Alesana Tuilagi, who plays for Samoa. An International Rugby Board representative confirmed Moody would be hit with the same standard NZ $10,000 fine if the allegation is proven.

A Rugby Football Union spokesman said England, who returned home from New Zealand this week, had not yet received any communication on the matter from the International Rugby Board.

Meanwhile, Tuilagi will be spoken to about his conduct by club side Leicester after his World Cup campaign ended in disgrace. The 20-year-old centre spent an hour at Auckland Central Police station on Sunday where he was given a formal pre-charge warning for disorderly behaviour after jumping from a ferry into the harbour.

Tuilagi, who was fined £3,000 by the RFU, will face more questions when he returns to Leicester. “As a club we are very mindful of the image of the game and the effect that our players’ actions have on our fans and sponsors,” Tigers’ chief operating officer Simon Cohen told the Leicester Mercury. “We will have a chat with Manu when he gets back to the club.”