Head-butt hearing for France's Parra set for Wednesday

Scrum-half Morgan Parra will learn on Wednesday if he will be able to play for France against Scotland in the Six Nations tournament in Edinburgh on March 8. The 25-year-old Clermont No.9 was recalled to the French squad by coach Philippe Saint-Andre on Monday after a long absence due to injury. But he had already been red-carded for head-butting an opponent while playing for his club in the French Top-14 on Saturday, raising the possibility of a suspension. A disciplinary hearing was set for March 12, after the Scotland game, but Parra would have been banned from playing pending that meeting. The player and his club asked for the hearing to be held earlier and the French league authorities agreed to advance it to Wednesday. Parra is facing a two-week suspension that would rule him out of the Scotland game, but he would be free to play for his country in their final tournament game at home against Ireland on March 15. He will, however, ask for a more lenient sanction, arguing that his action was more in immediate reaction to a hard tackle by an offside Rene Ranger of Montpellier than a deliberate gesture. Parra, who served a suspension in October for punching an opponent, missed the first three Six Nations matches as coach Philippe Saint-Andre waited to see how he performed for his club after returning from injury. Parra's return to the squad was one of several changes made to the squad by Saint-Andre in the wake of the 27-6 loss to Wales that wrecked hopes of a first French Grand Slam since 2010. Source: AFP