Ben Kay says Chris Ashton will feel hard done by as Saracens weigh up appeal

Saracens are considering lodging an appeal against the 10 week ban which has ruled Chris Ashton out of the 2016 Six Nations campaign, but former England World Cup winner Ben Kay has said the decision was ‘harsh’ on the winger.

Ashton was found guilty of making contact with the eyes of Ulster’s Luke Marshall in a European Champions Cup game and could be out of action until the 28th March.

Ashton, who has been in fine form for Saracens this season which earnt him an England recall, has until this Saturday to decide whether to make an appeal or not after he was cited for grabbing Marshall’s head and dragging him to the floor.

The suspension comes when Ashton was playing some of his best rugby since he last pulled on an England jersey in the summer of 2014.

But Kay insists it was tough on Ashton to be handed such a lengthy ban and puts it down to the inconsistency within the laws of the game as well as slow motion replays.

He said: “For me I think the decision is harsh.  Yes you have to be careful about contact with the eye area and I can see why World Rugby is trying to discard dangerous play.

“Having said that and having seen the incident a number of times in slow motion and normal speed, I don’t think you should be allowed to use the slow motion replays in any disciplinary process whether that be the TMO’s on the field or the disciplinary hearings after.

“It makes it look like Ashton has deliberately targeted the face when in full speed, my initial reaction was that it is a penalty and potential yellow card because he has grabbed someone by the head and thrown them to the floor.

“When you look at the inconsistencies and the low end punishment you get for striking or punching and even [Yoann] Huget’s stamp which didn’t even go to a hearing in France, I think Chris Ashton will be pretty upset that he now out for three months while he is fully fit.”

Ashton, who has picked up 39 caps, can still train with the England squad pending a potential appeal, but the reality is that Jones will have to now reassess his options to replace Ashton.

But Kay thinks that this whole situation is a bigger blow for Ashton than it is for England.

He added: “Jones is going to be used to losing people through injury and he has got quite a lot of talented wingers out there which he can rely on instead.

“For Ashton, it will be absolutely heart breaking because of the amount of time it has taken him to get back in England fold and now he is sat around doing nothing when he is fully fit so it will be hugely frustrating for him and potentially could affect his form.

“He is on a role at the moment and looks confident and now he is sitting out for a three month window which is longer than pre-season so his season is going to have to start all over again.”

“If you are playing devils advocate and looking at the other side of it, as soon as you go high on someone, you run that risk of not been in control of what happens so hopefully he will learn a lesson from that.”