Tom James lands suspension for striking during cup clash

Northampton’s Tom James has been handed a three-match ban for striking Ben White during a Champions Cup game against Toulon

The scrum-half, 30, was cited for hitting White with his head in the 70th minute of Saints’ 22-19 win last Friday.

James could have been handed a six-week suspension for the offence, but an independent disciplinary committee reduced the sanction following the player’s “acceptance of the charge and his clear disciplinary record”.

James, who joined Saints from Doncaster Knights in 2020, will be free to play again on January 8 – meaning he will be absent from his side’s Gallagher Premiership fixtures against Gloucester, Northampton and Exeter.

In other disciplinary news, Castres Olympique centre, Adrea Cocagi, was yesterday suspended for four weeks after he received a red card against Edinburgh Rugby at the Hive Stadium in round 2.

He was sent off for tackling full back Harry Paterson in a dangerous manner in contravention of Law 9.13.

Law 9.13 A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously.

Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.13 carries the following sanction entry points - Low End: 2 weeks; Mid-range: 6 weeks; Top end: 10 to 52 weeks

An independent Disciplinary Committee upheld the red card decision, finding that in carrying out the tackle in a dangerous manner, Cocagi had made contact with Paterson’s head.

It then determined that the offending was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions and six weeks was selected as the appropriate entry point.

Due to his timely acceptance of the charge and his apology to Paterson, the committee decided to reduce the sanction by two weeks before imposing a four-week suspension.

- additional reporting from PA