In a potentially savage blow to their hopes of making a late season surge to the finals, rising Waratahs prop Daniel Botha has been cited ahead of Friday night’s must-win clash against the Western Force.
The 24-year-old was officially cited on Monday morning for making “dangerous contact” with Crusaders lock Antonio Shalfoon in the second half during the Waratahs’ 35-20 loss on Friday night.
The incident took place in the 61st minute, with Botha coming in late at a ruck to try and clear the second-rower off the ball.
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Shalfoon can be seen bouncing back after the contact and briefly clutching his head.
His hearing will take place on Tuesday night.
Waratahs prop Daniel Botha. Getty
Waratahs coach Dan McKellar will be desperate to ensure Botha escapes punishment after the 24-year-old’s coming of age.
After playing second fiddle to Taniela Tupou last year, Botha’s been McKellar’s first choice tight-head prop for the majority of the season.
While Sifa Amone started ahead of Botha last week, the change up was as much to do with rotation and finishing the game strongly alongside usual loose-head prop Tom Lambert.
Amone also struggled in his first start in the No.3 jersey, with the Crusaders’ All Blacks-laden front-row putting the Waratahs’ scrum on roller-skates.
A potential ban wouldn’t just rob the Waratahs of their best scrummaging prop, but it would also likely hurt the team’s ability to generate clean, fast ball from set-piece strike plays.
That could prove costly, especially with McKellar set to welcome Wallabies star Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii back into the starting side after a two-month absence because of a hamstring injury for Friday night’s match against the Force.
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Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is set to return against the Western Force on Friday. Getty
His expected return comes not a second late with the Waratahs slipping to eighth spot on the Super Rugby standings on 19 points following the 15-point loss to the Crusaders, four points behind the sixth-place Queensland Reds.
McKellar said Suaalii would given the Waratahs a massive boost on the field, having not played since pulling up lame in the warm-up ahead of their third game against the Hurricanes in early March.
“Presence, leadership, his defence,” McKellar said of what former NRL star Suaalii would bring.
“And to get him the ball in space … a big, abrasive point of difference.
“He’s a player we’ve missed. In the 23 games (we’ve played), he’s played eight since he’s been here.
“I hope we can turn that around to help us achieve what we want to achieve.”
His probable return will be a promoter’s dream too, with Suaalii to square up against his former NSW Blues teammate, Zac Lomax.
Lomax, who debuted earlier this month against the Drua, enjoyed a win on his starting debut against the Crusaders in just his second match.
The winger scored a try and set up another during the come-from-behind win.
He was also the target of several attacking kicks from the Force, with Simon Cron’s men likely to target the Waratahs’ small backline in Sydney.