Justin Tipuric has said George North’s bite marks were visible in the dressing room in the aftermath of Wales’ controversial Six Nations defeat to France.
Both players and coach Rob Howley will learn on Monday whether match citing commissioner John Montgomery intends to take action against France over the biting allegation.
Despite claims from Wales, there was no on-field action that was taken but Montgomery will have time until 5pm on Monday to give his verdict on the incident based on the video evidence given to him.
Flanker Tipuric said: “He (North) came in to the dressing room and you could see a big bite mark on his arm.
“He went to the ref and talked to him about it. But there is a big bite mark there. That’s all I have seen.”
Howley – who was also angered by the other controversy surrounding France’s use of a late replacement for a claimed head injury assessment – said: “It’s gone to the television match official.
“The evidence was inconclusive in terms of the images that were shown to the referees, and ultimately they’ve made a decision on that and it is absolutely fine.
“I am 100 per cent behind that decision in terms of the pictures they saw.
“Obviously, there is evidence to suggest otherwise on George’s arm. The evidence suggests there is a bite.
“The referee only had one angle. I haven’t seen any other angles, so unfortunately it is inconclusive and you move on.
“I am sure you can ask George if you can have a look at his arm. There is evidence to suggest that there is a bite.”
France coach Noves has denied the charges made by Wales and insisted that the evidence can be created.
“I can bite myself and I’ll have a bite mark,” said Noves.
No French player has been named on the claims made by Wales and if the charges are proved, the World Rugby sanctions for the offence range from 12 to 24 weeks.
A Six Nations spokesperson said: “With regards to the biting incident surrounding George North, we have an independent match citing commissioner. The commissioner will be reviewing all the major incidents in the game and he has 48 hours to do so. He will take that time to make those decisions.
“As for the replacement of France’s prop forward, we are aware of the concerns surrounding the use of the head injury assessment protocol. We are looking into the matter and will issue a statement in due course once our findings are complete.”
The defeat in France has seen Wales drop to eighth in the World Rugby rankings. Their fifth-place tournament finish is their worst since 2007, and cost them £1.5million in prize money.
It means Wales will be in band two for the 2019 World Cup draw which will be made in May – meaning they will be in a group with one of the top four seeds (New Zealand, England, Australia and Ireland) but not with another strong side from band two, such as South Africa or France.
