ACT Brumbies and Wallabies star David Pocock will front a preliminary judiciary hearing on Tuesday morning before the club decides whether to fight any punishment for allegedly grabbing the neck of a Waikato Chiefs player on Saturday night.
The Brumbies are still coming to grips with the biggest home loss in the club's Super Rugby history after falling to the Chiefs 48-23 at Canberra Stadium, and losing Pocock would be a massive double blow.
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Chiefs show they mean business
The Brumbies back-line will be having nightmares as the combination of Damian McKenzie, Aaron Cruden and James Lowe terrorised the home-side and drove the Chiefs to their first win in Canberra since 2008 by 48-23.
The Brumbies' lead at the top of the Australian conference has evaporated and they now sit level with the Melbourne Rebels, who beat the NSW Waratahs on Sunday.
The Brumbies have a bye this week but will be sweating on the results of Pocock's hearing ahead of their clash against the Waratahs on April 16.
SANZAAR officials are well known for unpredictable outcomes and spinning the wheel of punishment when it comes to referring incidents to a judicial officer.
Pocock is alleged to have contravened Law 10.4 (e) for playing a player without the ball and Law 10.4 (m) acting in contrary to good sportsmanship.
There is footage of Pocock grabbing Chiefs No.8 Michael Lietch during a maul in the 74th minute, but it is unclear if Pocock has him in a headlock.
The Super Rugby citing commissioner deemed the incident had met the red-card threshold and the matter will be heard by SANZAAR duty judicial officer Adam Cassleden.
Pocock and a large chunk of the Brumbies squad is in Sydney for a Wallabies camp as Test coach Michael Cheika gets national players together to start planning for the mid-year series against England.
The Wallabies camp has delayed the first hearing of Pocock's incident, with Cassleden to decide on what punishment should be dished out.
The Brumbies can either accept his decision or choose to fight in the hope of avoiding any suspension.
The NSW Waratahs successfully argued hooker Tolu Latu would serve his punishment in Sydney club rugby last month after he was found guilty of punching Brumbies playmaker Matt Toomua.
Pocock could take a similar approach and serve the ban in Canberra's club competition given he's aligned to the Uni-Norths Owls. The Owls begin their John I Dent Cup season against Wests on Saturday.
Pocock went unpunished in regular game time against the Chiefs and privately players fear the unpredictable nature of the competition's judiciary process, and the Brumbies could fight any guilty verdict.
The Brumbies are still licking their wounds after suffering a massive loss against the Chiefs.
It was the Brumbies' largest losing margin in Canberra; eclipsing their 33-15 loss to the Hurricanes in 2008 and 41-23 defeat to the Sharks in 1998. It was the most points they had conceded in any match since 2011.
The Brumbies now face a season-defining run of five games against the Waratahs, the Canterbury Crusaders, the defending champion Otago Highlanders, the Pretoria Bulls and the Rebels.
"There's obviously areas that we need to work on, but I think there was plenty of effort out there [against the Chiefs]," Larkham said.
"Defensively, around the halfway mark was an area we got found out [but] our defensive effort on our line was superb and I think that's what's been a hallmark of this team for a number of years."
The Brumbies have won four of their and are still at the top of the Australian conference thanks to their for-and-against record.
The Rebels have moved up to be level with the Brumbies on 17 ladder points and there's a three-way tussle with the Waratahs for bragging rights.
Australian teams have fewer derbies this year and play one more game against New Zealand rivals in a revamped Super Rugby format.
The Brumbies still have games against the Crusaders, the Highlanders and the Auckland Blues.
"What's the point of being in a competition if you don't play the best? If you play finals and you haven't played the best then surely it's an empty feeling," Brumbies flanker Scott Fardy said.
"I think if you're playing the best teams it only improves you. For us, if we play five New Zealand teams it gives guys experience and we're happy with that. That's the way the competition is."
BRUMBIES BIGGEST HOME LOSSES
25 points (48-23): v Chiefs, round 6 2016
18 points (33-15): v Hurricanes, round 5 2008
18 points (41-23): v Sharks, round 3 1998
14 points (30-16): v Blues, round 18 2012
14 points (42-28): v Chiefs, round 8 2008
13 points (37-24): v Crusaders, round 18 2015
13 points (16-3): v Stormers, round 15 2011
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