Joe Marler has been banned for two weeks with a further four suspended over comments made by the England and Harlequins prop to Bristol Bears' Jake Heenan.
Marler, who has been capped 79 times by England, reportedly made a remark over Heenan's mother during Quins' 15-12 Premiership defeat to Bristol at the Stoop on Tuesday.
The comment led to a melee on the field between the two sets of players and the Bristol flanker received a penalty in the aftermath.
Marler was given a six-week suspension on Friday but four of those have been suspended. He will also be required to give a presentation to a local club or school, as well as a Premiership academy, on what the core values of rugby are.
Gareth Graham, RFU disciplinary panel chair, said: "The player [Marler] accepted that his conduct was prejudicial to the interests of the game.
"Rugby's core values are not empty words or slogans which can be signed up to and then ignored. They are integral to the game.
"The insulting and offensive comments made by the player were wholly inappropriate; such comments should form no part of the modern game."
Marler is no stranger to controversy on the field, having been suspended and fined in 2016 for an incident with Wales prop Samson Lee, while he received a 10-week ban in 2020 for grabbing Alun Wyn Jones' genitals during a Six Nations match.
Contepomi hails 'beautiful' Pumas play after South Africa win
Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi hailed Los Pumas for combining "beautiful" attacking play with resolute defensive work as they kept their Rugby Championship hopes alive with a dramatic victory over South Africa.
Having won their first four games of the 2024 tournament, the Springboks knew a win in Santiago would have clinched their fifth Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship crown with a match to spare.
They raced into an early lead with tries from Aphelele Fassi and Jesse Kriel, only for Mateo Carreras, Pablo Matera, Joel Sclavi and Tomas Albornoz to go over in response for the hosts.
The visitors later re-established their lead in the second half, only for Albornoz's penalty to put Argentina 29-28 ahead, which remained the final score following a late penalty miss from South Africa's Manie Libbok.
After the win, which preserved Argentina's hopes of overhauling the Springboks in matchweek six, Contepomi said: "The victory could have been a defeat in the last minute.
"Beyond the result, which is obviously welcome, the important thing is what we were able to do at times, which is to impose our game.
"At times it came out and we shot ourselves in the foot, because we gave them an entrance into the game with penalties and unforced errors.
"South Africa are predictable, but it's not easy. You know what they are going to do, but they do it so well that it is very difficult to stop. Every centimetre counts.
"The attacking play is what is easiest to see, or the most beautiful, but I think a lot about our work on defence."
Argentina go to Mbombela for their final game next Saturday, sitting five points behind the world champions in the standings.
"We have many areas to correct," Contepomi said, looking ahead to that rematch. "There are small mistakes that allowed them into the game.
"It's about trying to minimise the ones you can control, the unforced errors. We are going to work on that to continue growing."
Australia 28-31 New Zealand: All Blacks withstand Wallabies' impressive fightback
New Zealand maintained their grip on the Bledisloe Cup with a 31-28 victory over Australia, but only after withstanding a spirited fightback from the Wallabies.
The All Blacks scored four first-half tries at the Accor Stadium, as they bounced back from their narrow defeat by South Africa last time out.
New Zealand came flying out of the blocks and were 21-0 to the good inside the opening 16 minutes, with Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane and Caleb Clarke all crossing.
Fraser McReight got Australia on the scoreboard, while Matt Faessler also went over, but Ardie Savea's converted try kept New Zealand in control at half-time at 28-14.
Damian McKenzie kicked the visitors further in front early in the second half, but Scott Robertson's side were made to cling on towards the end.
With Clarke and Anton Lienert-Brown sin-binned inside the final quarter of an hour, the Wallabies launched a late rally.
Hunter Paisami reduced the deficit, and the hosts closed the gap to a single score when Tom Wright went over in the final minute, but it proved too little too late for Joe Schmidt's side.
Data Debrief: Slipper out on his own as Savea surpasses McCaw
It was an historic day for Slipper, with the veteran prop becoming Australia's most-capped player when he ran on for his 140th Test early in the second half.
Ultimately, it proved a bittersweet day as he was forced off with a head injury just 21 minutes later, but he now stands alone on the Wallabies' all-time list.
However, the match belonged to New Zealand, who retained the Bledisloe Cup as they have done every year since 2003.
Savea created his own piece of history when he scored his 28th international try, surpassing the great Richie McCaw as the most by any All Blacks forward.
The Rugby Championship: Springboks target trophy in Santiago
Not since 2019 have South Africa held the Rugby Championship title, but Saturday could be the day as they head to Argentina knowing victory will seal their fifth crown.
Rassie Erasmus' Springboks have been perfect in the competition thus far, making it four wins from four games with their 18-12 victory over New Zealand two weeks ago.
Standing in their way, though, are a Pumas side that have enjoyed a terrific campaign, handing Australia the heaviest defeat in their storied Test history last time out.
The Wallabies will be desperate to respond in matchweek five's other contest, and a victory over the All Blacks would help them off the bottom of the standings after a difficult campaign.
Ahead of the penultimate round of fixtures, we dive into the best Opta facts and figures to preview both games.
AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND
Australia were utterly humiliated by Argentina last time out, the game running away from them in the second half as they succumbed to a record-breaking 67-27 defeat, having earlier led by 17 points.
Joe Schmidt's team are up against it as they bid to bounce back this weekend. The Wallabies have only won one of their last 12 Tests against New Zealand, drawing one and losing 10.
The All Blacks have won each of the last seven meetings between the teams by an average margin of 17.4 points per game. The last time they enjoyed a longer winning run against their neighbours was a 10-match span between August 2008 and September 2010.
They also boast a tremendous record in Sydney, where this week's contest takes place. New Zealand have only lost one of their last 10 Tests against Australia in the city, winning the last four while averaging 44.3 points per game.
Australia have themselves, however, won their last two Tests in Sydney, as many victories as they managed in their 15 games in the city prior to that span (two wins, one draw, 12 defeats).
And New Zealand have not exactly been faultless on their travels lately, losing three of their last four Tests on foreign soil, including their last two – both in South Africa in this year's Rugby Championship.
If the All Blacks are to halt their miserable run on the road, their ability to create turnovers could be key.
Their 23 turnovers won in the 2024 Rugby Championship are more than any other team, while their four tries scored from turnovers won are second only to Argentina's five.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Australia – Marika Koroibete
Koroibete has made four line breaks in this year's Rugby Championship tournament, the joint-most of any player this campaign (also Beauden Barrett, with four for New Zealand).
He has recorded at least one in each of his three games in the tournament, after making only two line breaks across his six Test matches before this year's competition began.
New Zealand – Damian McKenzie
McKenzie has made 10 break assists in the Rugby Championship this year, at least four more than any other player in the tournament.
In addition, he has been directly involved in a try on each of his last three starting appearances in Tests against Australia (one try, two try assists) – will he haunt the Wallabies again here?
ARGENTINA V SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa have dominated from the off in this year's edition of the Rugby Championship, scoring 112 points but, most impressively, allowing their opponents just 58 through their four outings to date.
Another victory on Saturday would take them second in the outright charts for most Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship titles, ahead of Australia but behind New Zealand (20).
It would also bring up their outright longest winning run in the history of the Rugby Championship, at six games. History is on their side in Santiago, with the Springboks having won their last eight Tests against Argentina by an average margin of 15.4 points per game.
They were given a scare when the teams last met in August 2023, though, trailing 10-3 at half-time before rallying to secure a 24-13 victory.
Los Pumas may need something incredible to overhaul South Africa in the standings from here, but they will be on a real high following their thumping win over Australia.
Of the last six occasions where Argentina have scored 50 or more points in a Test, they have followed up with a victory four times, including in their last two such matches.
Felipe Contepomi's team have scored a half-century of points twice in 2024, last doing so on three occasions back in 2015.
They will not expect a repeat against South Africa's fearsome defence, but they could trouble the visitors with their physicality.
Los Pumas have scored three tries when starting their possession from a scrum in this year's Rugby Championship, as many as all the other teams combined (South Africa two, New Zealand one).
South Africa, meanwhile, have made a habit of praying on their opponent's mistakes, making 11 kicks in play that resulted in an opposition error, more than twice as many as Argentina, who are second by that metric with five.
The Springboks have also retained possession from 26 in-play kicks, at least 15 more than any other team in the competition, with Argentina and New Zealand logging 11 apiece and Australia recording eight.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Argentina – Tomas Albornoz
Albornoz has gained 98.4 metres per 80 minutes from his 152 minutes played in the Rugby Championship this year – the most of any player in the campaign.
South Africa – Ruan Nortje
Nortje (26 – including two steals) and team-mate Eben Etzebeth (21, one steal) have won more lineouts (including steals) than any other players in the Rugby Championship this year.
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