Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi has been banned for five weeks after punching England international Chris Ashton last week. He will now miss the Premiership final against Saracens.
The ban was initially 10 weeks, but has been reduced because of a push from Ashton that contributed to the incident becoming ugly.
This is arguably a strange decision, especially when you consider that Tuilagi is still available for England in August where he could line up alongside the man he punched so viciously.
Speaking about the ban, disciplinary officer Jeff Blackett said: “We determined that there was some provocation from Chris Ashton who pushed and struck him in the back with his knee.”
“The top-end range is eight to 52 weeks and we determined that the appropriate entry point within that range is 10 weeks. This was reduced by 50% to reflect Manu's youth and inexperience, his admission of guilt and his genuine remorse.”
Tuilagi has also been fined £500 for his actions and will just want to put the issue to bed. He knows he was stupid to act in the way he did. He needs to rebuild his reputation somewhat after the incident, perhaps using his performances on the pitch upon his return to do this.
He could be doing this in an England shirt of course as he looks to be in contention for the matches against Wales on 6th and 13th August.
The World Cup preparations are then well and truly underway ahead of the tournament that sees them come up against those in a Scotland World Cup Shirt amongst others.
Tuilagi will be hoping that by this stage, the regrettable incident will be a distant memory and he will be performing well, alongside Ashton, as they attempt to secure World Cup glory.
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