Ashton banned over dangerous tackle

Chris Ashton will miss England’s opening autumn Test match against Fiji after a Rugby Football Union (RFU) disciplinary panel announced on Wednesday that they have banned him for a dangerous tackle.

The Saracens wing has been suspended for a week after being cited for a dangerous tackle on Northampton’s Vasily Artemyev in a Premiership match on Saturday.

The citing’s level one status was the equivalent of an off-pitch yellow card, increasing Ashton’s tally for the season to three and yielding an automatic disciplinary hearing.

The suspension has been timed to run from November 4 specifically to prevent Ashton from playing against the Fijians six days later, as England have not released him to play for his club this weekend.