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Durban - The New South Wales Waratahs' humbling loss to the Super Rugby-leading Sharks in Durban on Saturday has been compounded by a citation to winger Rob Horne for striking.
The 15-test Wallabies back was penalised after coming into contact with the Sharks' Francois Steyn early in the 32-10 mauling.
The match's citing commissioner had deemed the hit deserving of a red card on review and referred the incident to the judiciary, governing body Sanzar said in a statement on Sunday.
Horne's likely ban for at least a week will tempt selectors to rush prolific try-scorer Israel Folau back from a throat injury after the re-jigged Waratahs' backline barely fired a shot in the absence of their explosive fullback.
Folau, who has scored eight tries in four matches this season, flew to South Africa on Saturday to join the Waratahs camp but only rated himself a '50-50' chance to line up against the Stormers in Cape Town next week.
The Sharks' win not only punched a hole into the much-hyped Waratahs' confidence, but also cemented Jake White's team at the top of the southern hemisphere tournament as the season approaches the halfway mark.
World Cup-winning former South Africa coach White, who took Australia's ACT Brumbies to the Super Rugby final last year, may lose Steyn's services for their trip to Johannesburg to take on the Lions after the utility back was cited for a rough tackle on Waratah Kurtley Beale.
White was, nonetheless, thrilled with his players' endeavour and relished a chance to bait opposing coach Michael Cheika, who broke a door at Canberra Stadium's coaches' box after a frustrating loss to the Brumbies earlier in the season.
"I just want to see if our coaches' box is still alright, because I have to get (chief executive John Smit) to get some insurance for it," White said in comments published by Fairfax media on Sunday.
"Hopefully it's not too damaged."
