The RFU Disciplinary Panel of His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett (chair), Robert Horner and Peter Budge suspended the Leicester Tigers scrum-half from Wednesday, March 28 (the date of Tigers’ internal suspension) to Wednesday, April 4. He can play again on Thursday, April 5.
Judge Blackett said: “We decided that the offence was at the low end of seriousness, which carries an entry point of three weeks. There were no aggravating features and on the basis of his good record this was reduced by 50 per cent.
“Taking into account RFU Regulation 19.11.13 there was a compelling mitigating factor in that the player was being held down unlawfully for a substantial period and so we reduced the suspension further to one week.
“We would like to thank Leicester for their responsible attitude towards this case.”
The red card issued to Worcester Warriors’ Andy Goode for a dangerous charge on Leicester's Tom Croft during the Aviva Premiership match at Welford Road last Friday was deemed sufficient.
The panel decided that the offence was at the low end of seriousness and that mitigating factors - the consequences of the charge were minimal, the player's remorse and good record over a long career - were compelling
