LONDON: The Wallabies' hopes of finishing at the top of the pool of death have been dealt a major blow, with flanker Michael Hooper facing suspension after a cleanout on England's Mike Brown.
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Hooper will front a judiciary on Tuesday morning (Tuesday night AEDT) to determine whether he is free to play in the crucial clash against Wales at Twickenham this weekend.
The independent citing commissioner cited Hooper for an act of foul play, charging into a ruck or maul without the use of arms or grasping the player.
It happened in the 39th minute of the 33-13 win against England.
Hooper cannoned into a ruck to try to clean out England fullback Brown. Brown took offence to the hit and grabbed Hooper after the play and the Wallabies' vice captain was penalised.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika was sure Hooper would not have a case to answer when he spoke on Sunday morning after the 20-point win.
"He got penalised, they made the call there. We were pretty good, pretty disciplined," Cheika said before Hooper was cited.
"We didn't give away too many penalties on the ground ... our offside has been pretty good in this tournament as well."
Hooper's absence would put a dent in the Wallabies' ambitions to topple Wales and clinch top spot in pool A.
Wales and the Wallabies are fighting for the best run to the World Cup final.
The Wallabies knocked England out of the tournament with a superb performance two days ago.
Hooper and David Pocock were influential in a tag-team openside flanker combination that England had no answers for.
If Hooper is suspended, Cheika will turn to either Ben McCalman or Sean McMahon in a new-look back-row combination against Wales.
The winner of the Wallabies-Wales contest will face either Scotland or Japan in the quarter finals and avoid New zealand and Ireland until the final.
Meanwhile, NRL convert Sam Burgess' World Cup debut has gone from bad to worse after he was cited for a high tackle on Hooper.
As the England camp deals with the fallout of being the first host nation in World Cup history to be eliminated before the quarter finals, Burgess has been issued with a yellow-card warning.
It comes as rumours swirl around England's team disharmony, with claims in the UK press that the players were divided after the preferential treatment given to South Sydney NRL premiership hero Burgess.
Burgess has played just five Tests for England, but was picked in their 31-man World Cup squad.
Burgess will escape further penalty and will be free to play in the last game against Uruguay if he is picked, while Hooper faces a stint on the sideline.
England five-eighth Owen Farrell also escaped further punishment for his late hit on Wallabies inside centre Matt Giteau, but Farrell was sent to the sin bin for the incident.
Hooper is no stranger to judiciary controversy.
He was dragged through a punishment circus for a behind-the-play incident against Argentina in the Rugby Championship.
The judiciary found him guilty, but allowed him to serve his punishment in Sydney club rugby and therefore be available for the Test against the All Blacks.
But SANZAR, the Rugby Championships' governing body, made the stunning decision to appeal the ruling. The appeal was dismissed and Hooper helped the Wallabies beat the All Blacks in the opening Bledisloe Cup match.
Hooper's case will be heard at law firm Clifford Chance in London by independent judicial officer Alan Hudson.
