Parra to learn fate on Thursday

Scrum-half Morgan Parra will now learn on Thursday 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 attended a league disciplinary hearing on Wednesday in Paris after being red-carded for head-butting an opponent while playing for his Club in the French Top-14 on Saturday. He was tight-lipped as he left the league headquarters after the hearing, which lasted more than an hour, but his lawyer said a decision was expected "on Thursday around 12:30". Parra was recalled to the French squad by coach Philippe Saint-Andre on Monday after a long absence due to injury. But the head-butting charge has raised the possibility of a suspension and he requested his hearing be brought forward from March 12, after the Scotland game, as he would have banned from playing pending that meeting. 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 was expected to 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