Australia's Quade Cooper has been cleared of kneeing Richie McCaw in the head during his side's Tri-Nations clash with New Zealand.
The Wallabies playmaker was cited for clashing with the flanker during Saturday's match in Brisbane and a guilty verdict could have seen him miss the first few matches of the World Cup.
However, the SANZAR Judicial Officer Jannie Lubbe dismissed the charges and the Reds player is now free to play in his country's opener against Italy.
Cooper was understandably delighted with the verdict and is now looking forward to the competition.
"I'm just very grateful and happy for a fair hearing and I'm just looking forward to getting on with rugby and focus on the World Cup," the stand-off said.
"It's a contact sport. Bodies are colliding left, right and centre. There's a lot of niggle going on out in the field."