Saracens' Billy Vunipola will face Clermont Auvergne in Saturday's European Champions Cup semi-final after being cleared by an RFU disciplinary panel of striking Leicester's Mathew Tait.

The 22-year-old had been cited for allegedly striking Leicester's Mathew Tait with a headbutt but the case has been dismissed, enabling the England back row to take on Clermont at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Saturday.

An RFU disciplinary panel have ruled the collision was unintentional and Saracens management had felt the England number eight should not have been cited.

Director of rugby Mark McCall said: “Billy was charged with a strike to the head. That has to be intentional but everyone can see that it wasn’t.

“There were enough camera angles to show Billy’s eyes were firmly on the ball the whole time.

"In terms of being reckless, he goes in in a very controlled fashion. He’s decelerating into contact and he’s in a great driving position. There’s no recklessness involved. It’s just a rugby accident and then it becomes a matter of physics.

"Mathew Tait weighs 90kg and Billy weighs a bit more than that. Billy was just doing what he’s trained and coached to do every day.”