The England scrum-half Martyn Wood will be free to start the new season with Bath after being cleared last night of a charge of bringing the game into disrepute following last month's Churchill Cup defeat against the New Zealand Maori in Canada.

Wood, the side's coach Steve Diamond and the kit technician John Pennycuick were hauled before a disciplinary panel in London last night. All three were charged with leaving the technical area during the game.

Feelings ran high after the touch judges ruled that a late penalty by England, which would have won the match, did not bisect the posts, a verdict the referee, the Northumbrian Dave Pearson, agreed with.

The Maori went on to win the match in extra-time. Though no official protest was made about the behaviour of the English contingent on the sidelines, the tournament organiser Terry Burwell ruled that Wood, Diamond and Pennycuick had cases to answer. Wood was found not guilty of verbally abusing one of the touch judges, but Pennycuick was deemed to have sworn at the fifth official and was reprimanded.

"Emotions were clearly running high," said the chairman of the disciplinary panel, Jeff Blackett. "The incident was blown out of all proportion and no complaint was made by the match officials."

It was the latest in a series of sideline scrapes for England following the obstruction of a France goal-kicker in Marseille last August, the 16-man fiasco during the World Cup and the head coach Sir Clive Woodward's outburst against the touch judge Stuart Dickinson following last month's defeat to New Zealand. The International Rugby Board is investigating his comments.

Sale yesterday signed the Italian lock Juan Pablo Lagarrigue on a three-month contract. He will cover for their new second-row recruit, the Argentinian Ignacio Lobbe, who will miss the first half of the season because of a knee injury.

Edinburgh will play their home matches at Murrayfield next season having failed to attract much support to Meadowbank in the past two years. Seven Edinburgh players are among a Scotland squad of 38 which will fly to Poland on Tuesday for a week of training.

Guinness yesterday joined the sponsors of the Lions ahead of next year's three-Test tour to New Zealand.

Referees in South Africa's Southern Cape are threatening to go on strike at the end of the month in protest at what they claim has been a lack of official support following alleged incidents of violence against them in club matches. The referees say they have been assaulted by players, spectators and coaches.

They accuse the South African Rugby Football Union of "pussyfooting" rather than take action.