James to face stamping charge

Bath face the prospect of being without Butch James for their tilt at a Guinness Premiership and Heineken Cup double after the South African fly-half was cited for stamping.

James has been summoned to appear before a Rugby Football Union disciplinary panel in London on Tuesday to answer allegations that he stamped on England centre Riki Flutey during Bath's midweek defeat to Wasps.

The recommended sanction for a player found guilty ranges from a minimum entry-level ban of two weeks to at least nine weeks, depending on the severity of the offence.

Bath are currently fourth in the Premiership with two regular season games remaining and face Leicester in Saturday's Heineken Cup quarter-final.

The Tigers will also be waiting on the disciplinary panel to discover whether Julian White is available for the European showdown at the Walkers Stadium after he was sent off at the weekend.

White received his fourth red card in seven seasons for punching England team-mate Andrew Sheridan in Leicester's Premiership victory over Sale.

White will appear before the panel - chaired by the RFU's disciplinary chief Judge Jeff Blackett - at 1pm with James to follow at 2.45pm.

Worcester hooker Chris Fortey will round off a busy day for the panel at 4pm after being cited for a dangerous tackle on Harlequins captain Will Skinner.

Fortey was sin-binned just three minutes into Worcester's 60-14 defeat at The Stoop on Wednesday night.

Sale wing Mark Cueto has also been cited for an alleged dangerous tackle on Bath's Andrew Higgins during a Guinness Premiership clash at Edgeley Park on March 27. He will appear at an RFU hearing in Warrington.