Saracens considering appeal of Ashton ban

Saracens are currently in the process of deciding whether to appeal the 10-week ban that has made Chris Ashton unavailable for the entirety of England's 2016 RBS 6 Nations campaign.

The suspension means winger Ashton is forbidden from playing for either club or country until March 28 having been found guilty of making contact with the 'eye or eye area' of Ulster centre Luke Marshall in the first half of Saracens' 33-17 Champions Cup victory on Saturday.

The incident in question saw the 28-year-old grab Marshall around the neck and pull him to the ground with his hands on the Ireland centre's face. Marshall complained about the contact and upon reviewing the incident, referee Jerome Garces awarded a penalty.

The citing officer subsequently lodged a complaint that was today upheld by an independent disciplinary hearing and Saracens now have 72 hours to decide whether to appeal.

It is a huge blow for Ashton - a representive of England 39 times -  who had managed to claw his way back into the England setup after falling out of favour during Stuart Lancaster's tenure because of perceived defensive frailties.

Last week, new England head coach Eddie Jones ended Ashton's 18 month international exile by including him in his 30-man elite player squad for the Six Nations with the Saracens flyer earmarked to start on the right wing against Scotland on February 6.

His absence robs England of their deadliest finisher - Ashton has crossed 19 times in 39 Test appearances for England with Ben Youngs the next highest on nine tries - and Jones will wait to see if Saracens appeal before calling in a replacement.

"I'm disappointed for him. Chris is a good player and he's been in good form," Jones told Sky Sports News.

"Players have these sorts of setbacks. I'm sure he's a good enough player to get over it, serve out his time if the suspension happens and then get back into it.

"He was so keen to get back into the international fold, so it's disappointing, but again it opens up an opportunity for another player.

"We've got a couple there that we'll look at and again we'll just have to see how the appeal goes."

Asked if he felt punishments for disciplinary problems were too harsh, Jones said: "The suspensions are there for a reason. When you're suspended you've just got to take it on the chin and get on with it."

Ashton has been a prolific try-scorer for Saracens since arriving from Northampton in 2012 and is equally admired by Jones, who spoke of him in glowing terms last Wednesday.

"Chris is as mad as a cut snake. He plays with a lot of energy, he's emotional and he's a real winner to me. He scores tries," Jones said.

England assistant coach Paul Gustard was similarily positive when discussing Ashton, highlighting his improved defensive game and backed his return for the Six Nations.

Ashton pleaded not guilty to the offence, but the independent hearing viewed the incident differently, although the European Professional Club Rugby statement revealed that the suspension had been reduced from 13 to 10 weeks.

"In upholding the citing complaint, the Judicial Officer found that Ashton had committed an act of foul play that warranted a red card," the statement read.

"He determined that that offence was at the low end of World Rugby's sanctions and selected 12 weeks as the appropriate entry point.

"He added one week as a deterrent according to World Rugby's memorandum regarding offences of this nature, before reducing the sanction by three weeks due to Ashton's good character and good conduct at the hearing. He then imposed a suspension of 10 weeks."