Former England coach Sir Clive Woodward has blasted the behaviour of prop Joe Marler, following his genital grabbing of Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones in the Six Nations.
As both players became entangled early in England's 33-30 victory at Twickenham last weekend, Marler appeared to grab the genitals of Wyn Jones, seen smirking after the fact.
However, Marler's actions could see him earn a maximum ban of 208 weeks, or four years.
Writing in his column for the Daily Mail, 2003 World Cup winning coach Woodward came down hard on Marler's behaviour, calling him an "embarrassment."
"You can be a great player and, yes, you can be a character and different but don't go around being a distraction and embarrassment to the team, the shirt and the country," Sir Clive writes.
"I knew England were in big trouble before the World Cup final when Joe Marler started horsing around at a bizarre press conference with Dan Cole.
"That was embarrassing, disrespectful and said much about the team's mindset. I wouldn't stand for that and, most importantly, nor should the team.
"We saw it again on Saturday with his ridiculous groping at Alun Wyn Jones' genitalia. Marler was trending all night on Twitter and perhaps he thinks that's clever and what life is all about but it will interesting to see how the RFU handle this. I know what I would do."
Marler will face the World Rugby judiciary later this week in Dublin.
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