France's controversial replacement of Uini Atonio by Rabah Slimani in the closing stages of their 20-18 RBS 6 Nations win over Wales has been referred to the tournament's Untoward Incident Review Group.

Slimani had already been substituted but the superior scrummager was allowed to return to the field when France's team doctor sent Atonio for a head injury assessment in the 81st minute.

A converted try after 20 minutes of added time handed the hosts a dramatic victory in Paris, but the re-emergence of Slimani left Wales interim head coach Rob Howley to declare: "There is evidence to suggest the integrity of the game has been brought into disrepute."

Six Nations top 10 players Show all 10 1 /10 Six Nations top 10 players Six Nations top 10 players 10. Camille Lopez (France) Dangerous cross-field kick nearly led to a chance for Nakataici in the first-half. He kicked well, although anything beyond 40m looked to be out of his range. Missed just one kick, which was forgivable. AFP/Getty Images Six Nations top 10 players 9. Kevin Gourdon (France) France have found their natural replacement for Thierry Dusautoir as Gourdon once again displayed his talents in the win over Italy. He carried well for more than 50 metres, and did his job in defence to slow down the Italian attack at the breakdown. Getty Six Nations top 10 players 8. Finn Russell (Scotland) Finn Russell touched down in the first half Getty Six Nations top 10 players 7. Dan Biggar (Wales) About as good a defensive display as you will see from a full-back. Made an exceptional 14 tackles as Nathan Hughes tried to ram the ball down his throat, and his interception on his own line saved Wales from conceding and gained them 80m in the process. Unlucky not to bag himself a try, as the combination of Nowell, Daly and a forward pass robbed him of three chances to score. Getty Six Nations top 10 players 6. Ken Owens (Wales) It wasn’t really a tournament where the hookers blossomed, so Owens makes the cut as a best of a bad bunch option. Jamie George impressed off the bench for England but saw too little game time, while Rory Best was only able to deliver on the final weekend. Fraser Brown had a solid start, but his yellow card against England cost his side dear and he was dropped for the finale against Italy. Getty Six Nations top 10 players 5. CJ Stander (Ireland) CARDIFF, WALES - MARCH 10: CJ Stander of Ireland runs with the ball during the RBS Six Nations match between Wales v Ireland at the Principality Stadium on March 10, 2017 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images) Getty Six Nations top 10 players 4. Baptiste Serin (France) Looked to try and seize his chance after being handed his first start, and didn’t do himself a disservice. That said, he didn’t do anything to stand out and was outnumbered when Youngs and Daly ran down his channel. Getty Six Nations top 10 players 3. Conor Murray (Ireland) EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Ireland player Conor Murray in action during the RBS Six Nations match between Scotland and Ireland at Murrayfield Stadium on February 4, 2017 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) Getty Six Nations top 10 players 2. Louis Picamoles (France) Player of the round? That may be the case, as even though France failed to win on Saturday, Picamoles was on another level to the other 29 starters at Twickenham. Gained the most metres of any man in the encounter, outrunning the entire English pack by nearly 30 metres. Getty Six Nations top 10 players 1. Rhys Webb (Wales) It was the Welshman who came out on top in the battle of the Lions hopefuls, given that Conor Murray saw his match ended prematurely through an arm injury. Webb didn’t have it all his way, but his pass to Halfpenny that set-up North’s try was sublime and he also spotted the gap to send the win over for his second. He’s quickly becoming the most attacking scrum-half in the world. Getty

Tournament organisers have now finished their initial assessment of the incident and have decided a further review is needed.

A Six Nations statement said: "Following its preliminary investigation into the replacements made in the latter stages of the France v Wales match on 18 March 2017 (and in particular the replacement of Uini Atonio by Rabah Slimani), Six Nations Rugby has decided to refer the matter to the independent Six Nations Untoward Incident Review Group (UIRG) for review.

"Six Nations Rugby will send the file to the UIRG later this week and it is anticipated that the review process will begin shortly thereafter."

In a chaotic finish, Wales wing George North claimed he was bitten by an opponent - although citing commissioner John Montgomery decided video footage was inconclusive and no further action was taken.

France forward Yoann Maestri was also fined 30,000 euros (£26,000) after he accepted a misconduct charge following allegedly critical post-match comments he made to the media about referee Wayne Barnes.