Saracens will back Chris Ashton if he makes bite charge appeal

A lot on his mind: Chris Ashton was banned for 13 weeks last night for biting Alex Waller
David Rogers/Getty Images
Chris Jones21 September 2016

Chris Ashton is awaiting the written judgment of his 13‑week ban for biting Alex Waller and will have 24 hours to decide whether to appeal when he receives it.

The report should arrive tomorrow and Saracens will back Ashton if he wants to contest the verdict, which took an RFU disciplinary panel five hours to deliver London last night.

Losing Ashton until December 19 is a massive blow to Sarries with the wing having scored 71 Premiership tries in his career and 19 for England.

Unless the 29-year-old wins an appeal — or gets the ban reduced — he will miss 12 matches, starting with the derby at Harlequins on Saturday. He will also sit out two round of the Champions Cup, including the trip to former European champions Toulon on October 15.

In his absence of one of the game’s great predators the club will have to rely on Sean Maitland, the Lions and Scotland wing, who signed from London Irish in the summer.

The RFU today confirmed Ashton will have 24 hours from when the written judgment is delivered to decide on an appeal but the danger for Ashton is that the ban could be increased if he fights the verdict and loses.

Ashton was given a 12-week ban for biting Northampton prop Waller but another allegation was dismissed by the three-person panel. That ruling is at the low entry level for the offence but an extra week was added because the wing was banned for 10 weeks in January for gouging.

“Having considered detailed evidence the panel concluded that during the course of a ruck Chris Ashton bit the arm of Alex Waller at a time that Mr Waller was attempting to clear him out,” said panel disciplinary chairman Philip Evans QC. “The panel concluded it was a low-end entry point aggravated by his previous record.”

The ban means Ashton is also out of England’s autumn Tests with South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia. Ashton won the last of his 39 caps on the summer tour to New Zealand in 2014 and withdrew from the recent Saxons trip to South Africa.

He was told by England head coach Eddie Jones missing the Saxons tour did not mean another Test exile but the ban means Ashton will not be in the Australian’s 45-strong squad for the autumn, which is named next week.

Ashton was ruled out of last season’s Six Nations — when England won the Grand Slam — after he was banned for gouging Ulster wing Luke Marshalll. Now, he is suspended in the lead up to another crucial England series and with a Lions tour to New Zealand at the end of the season, he is once again falling behind wing rivals at Test level.

Jamie George summed up the feeling of his team-mates. The England and Sarries hooker said: “He’s given so much to this team, and it’s never nice to see someone you care about in a difficult circumstance. He’s a strong character. We’ve just got to support him as much as we can.”

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