Chris Ashton’s England hopes hit by tip tackle in pre-season friendly

Chris Ashton’s hopes of an international recall have been thrown into doubt after he was cited on Tuesday morning for a tip tackle.

The wing was sent off during Sale’s friendly against Castres on Friday night and he could be hit with a ban of at least six weeks if found guilty by a disciplinary hearing on Thursday.

Footage released by the RFU seems to show Ashton lifting Castres scrum-half Rory Kockott off the ground almost directly in front of referee Romain Poite, who had just stopped play.

An RFU statement read: “Ashton was shown a red card by Roman Poite in the 46th minute. This was for a tip tackle on Rory Kockott contrary to law 9.18 (A player must not lift an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player so that their head and/or upper body make contact with the ground).”

Tip tackling is a big focus in the game, with concerns over concussion and neck injuries, and a ban would scupper Ashton’s hopes of impressing England head coach Eddie Jones following a four-year Test hiatus. The new Premiership season gets under way next week and Jones is set to name an England training squad for a get-together in Bristol on September 20.

The Australian will then name a squad for the autumn series in the middle of October, leaving the 31-year-old former Northampton and Saracens star — if found guilty — in a race against time to be involved. England are due to play four Tests: against South Africa, New Zealand, Japan and Australia.

Ashton gave up a £700,000-a-year contract with Toulon to move back to the Premiership and give himself a chance of winning a 40th England cap.

Meanwhile, the Rugby Players’ Association have expressed their surprise at the RFU’s decision to charge Danny Cipriani with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game.

The Gloucester fly-half was found guilty by a Jersey court last week of common assault and resisting arrest following an incident in a bar, but the RPA said in a statement: “We believe that it was appropriate for the matter to be dealt with by [his] club through their own disciplinary procedures. As Gloucester have now completed this process, we believe this should close the matter. We will be raising this with the RFU.”