Parra to appeal punching ban

Clermont scrumhalf Morgan Parra is to appeal the four-week ban he received for violent play.

Parra copped the ban for having punched Bordeaux-Begles's Gautier Gibouin several times during a Top 14 league match on September 29.

If the ban is upheld, Parra, a member of the France side that lost 8-7 to the All Blacks in the 2011 World Cup Final, will miss the visit of Harlequins in the European Cup this weekend – as well as Top 14 league matches against Brive and Castres, along with Les Bleus' Test match against New Zealand on November 9.

AFP