England prop Kyle Sinckler was heard on the referee's microphone calling Australia players "f***ing snitches" during Sunday's test at Twickenham.
Sinckler's comments rubbed salt into the wound for the Wallabies after the ninth loss in 15 tests this year.
The "snitches" quip by Sinckler referred to senior Australia players whohad gone to head coach Michael Cheika at the start of the week to inform him that Kurtley Beale and Adam Ashley-Cooper had broken team rules after their test defeat against Wales, inviting three women back to their hotel in Newport.
As a result, neither Beale or Ashley-Cooper, who boast more than 200 test caps between them, were considered for selection against England.
Australia captain Michael Hooper admitted afterwards that he was not aware of the comments made by Sinckler, which came before a scuffle broke out between the two sides when he said: "You're all f***ing snitches anyway."
"I didn't hear that. There was a bit around the non-try but I enjoyed that, a fun part of the game," Hooper said.
"It is a fairly strong rivalry and you want to be in those games where guys are dying to win, and that was one out there today."
Sinckler went on to win the man of the match award following England's dominant 37-18 victory, having been picked to start by Eddie Jones ahead of Exeter's Harry Williams.
His comments did, however, draw the attention of referee Jaco Peyper, who reminded the Harlequins prop: "There are the laws of the game and the spirit."
@KyleSinckler absolute TV gold with that comment!! 🤣🤣🤣
Cheika did not condemn Sinckler for his comments, explaining that he was not against sledging.
"You want me to answer a question about a sledge from an England player?" commented Cheika.
"It's not kindergarten. I can sledge you on anything I want and be nasty and it may not even be true. That's what sledging is. If you sledge you can use any tactics you want.
Under-fire Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has many concerns. Opponents' sledging isn't one of them. Photo / Getty
"You've seen the cricket, most of sledging is not true. It's to rile you up and to jab you in the side, that is what it is.
"I'm not against sledging, if you're into it, if that's what they want to do. Most of what gets under your skin is the stuff that is not true."
