The former Scarlet could have found himself out of the game for twice as long however, had it not been for his previously good record and guilty plea. Independent judicial officer, Roger Morris determined the tackle was at the mid-range entry point of six weeks and added two weeks as “a deterrent against this pattern of offending”, but reduced the penalty by four weeks in consideration of Shingler coming clean and his clear record.

A Disciplinary Hearing as a result of the red card issued to Steven Shingler, the London Irish player (No 12), during the Heineken Cup, Pool 2 match against Cardiff Blues at Cardiff City Stadium on Friday, 18 November 2011 was conducted today (Wednesday, 23 November 2011).

The red card was issued in the 20th minute of the first half by referee, Jerome Garces (France), for a dangerous tackle on the Cardiff Blues centre, Dafydd Hewitt (No 12), in contravention of Law 10.4(j).

The independent Judicial Officer, Roger Morris (Wales), heard submissions from Shingler, the London Irish Head Coach Toby Booth, Team Manager Kieran McCarthy  and ERC Disciplinary Officer, Roger O’Connor, before determining that the tackle was at the mid-range entry point of six (6) weeks.

As a deterrent against the this pattern of offending within the game the Judicial Officer added a further two (2) weeks to the entry point of six (6) weeks, but having taken into account the player’s guilty plea and clear record, he decided on a reduction of four (4) weeks.

Shingler is therefore suspended for four (4) weeks from the date of the match and will be free to play on Monday, 19 December 2011. Both the player and ERC have the right  to appeal the decision.

Law 10.4(j) Dangerous tackle – Lifting a player from the ground and either dropping or driving that player’s head and/or upper body into the ground whilst the player’s feet are off the ground

Under the IRB Recommended Sanctions for Offences Committed within the Playing Enclosure, Law 10.4 (j), carries the following penalties: Lower End: 3 weeks; Mid Range: 6 weeks; Top End: 10+ to 52 weeks

Romans (26) from Christchurch, has plenty of experience in both the New Zealand Provincial Cup, playing for Otago, as well as Super 14 Rugby, having played 11 times for the Highlanders. He also has two international caps, having played for the Junior All Blacks in 2009 in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup.

Nottingham’s Director of Rugby, Glenn Delaney commented:

“Sean is a great signing for the club and brings with him a lot of experience from New Zealand Rugby. We have been a little light at scrum half, with both Nathan (Jones) and Finlay (Barnham) carrying slight knocks through the first half of the season, meaning we have been a little exposed.

“We knew Tim Usasz wasn’t coming back to the club after the World Cup, but agreed not to announce his departure until after that time. Tim has been a great servant to Nottingham and I would like to thank him for what he has helped us achieved here, and we all wish him well for the future. But we have to move on and we’ve been looking at who we could bring in, and I am delighted with Sean’s signing.”

Romans becomes the third scrum half at Nottingham, joining Nathan Jones (27) and Finlay Barnham (21), who have been sharing the scrum half duties so far this season. He has signed a contract with Nottingham which will see him stay with the club until at least the end of the season.

Delaney added:

“Sean’s signing provides us with greater strength in depth and a healthy competition for places in the scrum half position. We’re almost half way through the season, but have got a long way to go to be in with a chance when it comes to the play offs and cup knockout. We have always wanted to expand the squad – both in terms of quantity and quality.”

Romans is awaiting clearance of his visa application, but is expected to join up with the Green and Whites later this month. He will be joining fellow Kiwi signing Brent Wilson and the experienced Samoan Filipo Levi at Nottingham, as the club continues to develop the playing squad.

Nottingham were in action against Plymouth in the League last weekend and completed a bonus point win with their fourth try in injury time to move up a place to 7th in the table. The Green and Whites have another home league match this weekend, entertaining Moseley in the Charity Match for The Prince’s Trust on Sunday, kick off 3pm. Wins in their next two league games should see Nottingham climb further up the table as they push for a place in the end of season play-offs and a chance at promotion to the Premiership.

Benjamin pleaded guilty before a Rugby Football Union Disciplinary Panel of Daniel White (chair), Mike Curling and John Doubleday who imposed a suspension from November 8 to 14. He can play again on November 15.

The panel deemed that the offence merited a low end entry point sanction and gave the player credit for his guilty plea and good record.

Ian Clark of Hartpury RFC was suspended for two weeks after he pleaded guilty to striking a Redruth player with his head during the National 2 South match on October 8.

The suspension runs from October 11 (the date Hartpury imposed a three-game suspension on Clark) to October 21 (he resumed playing on October 22) and from November 8 to 10. He can play again on November 11.

The Panel found that Fuimaono-Sapolu made or adopted from other users of Twitter, critical or sarcastic comments about the rugby disciplinary process and made, or adopted from other users of Twitter, critical comments about the Rugby World Cup and the International Rugby Board on his Twitter account.

The Panel dismissed the charge of making or adopting from other users of Twitter, insulting or provocative comments about Owen Farrell, a professional rugby player, on his Twitter account.

Panel chair Daniel White said: “The Twitter forum is not one for ‘banter’ and is not the equivalent of a clubhouse discussion – it is in fact a public forum, and for that reason players should be guarded in what is said and therefore endorsed. We note that over 13,000 people are registered to follow Mr Fuimaono-Sapolu on Twitter. It should be noted that young people, those learning the sport and the public at large look to people in his position and for these reasons we have imposed a sentence designed to deter others who may be tempted to act in this way.” 

This finding does not necessarily trigger the suspended sentence imposed on October 15 by the International Rugby Board for breaches of the Rugby World Cup 2011/International Rugby Board Code of Conduct.

The Panel is keen to stress that this decision stands alone and that it is a matter for the IRB to determine whether the actions of Fuimaono-Sapolu constituted a breach of the conditions of that sanction.

Canadian international full-back Matt Evans, aged 23, who has been a star performer for the ‘Canucks’ since making his debut in 2008 and has just competed in the Rugby World Cup, will join the Cornish Pirates early in November following next weekend’s Pan American Games rugby 7s competition being held in Guadalajara, Mexico.

A former Hartpury College and Newport Gwent Dragons player, who was actually born in Salisbury, England, Matt’s best considered positions are full-back and wing, but he also has the skill set to play anywhere in the backline, except scrum-half.

Cornish Pirates supporters will be looking forward to welcoming the latest new signing, but will also be sad to hear the news regarding Wes Davies who has played superbly this past couple of years during what has been his second spell with the club.

With reference to the singing of Matt Evans, Cornish Pirates CEO Rod Coward commented:

"In announcing that we have signed Matt Evans as cover for an unfortunate Wes, I can confirm that he comes highly recommended and we have been watching his progress for some time. Supporters will remember him for his performances against the Pirates for Gwent Dragons and Newport.

"Matt has played 16 times for Canada, most recently at the World Cup, and has scored eight tries. He also represents Canada at 7s and will be joining us on the 2nd of November."

Making their debut for the national side will be winger Sarah Dixon (Stirling County) and scrum-half Sarah Sexton (Murrayfield Wanderers) while the announcement of a place on the bench is a welcome birthday present for flanker Lana Skeldon (Melrose), who turns 18 today. Fellow substitutes, scrum-half Hollie Davidson (Edinburgh University), who moves up from Scotland Women under-20,  and winger Megan Gaffney (Murrayfield Wanderers) are also poised to make their debut.

Head coach Karen Findlay said: "The Netherlands fixture provides us with a great opportunity to see what some new players to the squad can do and put all the hard work the players have been doing over the summer to the test.

"Susie McKerlie-Hex has been developing as a front row forward while Lana Skeldon, who has come through the under-20 programme, is new to the squad and both are exciting prospects. Similarly Lisa Richie at 10 has done well during the two Scotland Series games which have provided the coaching team with opportunities to see players competing in regular higher quality matches and have enabled players to really show what they can do.

"The selected team are in no doubt that the Netherlands match will be a tough test, particularly given that Holland have had a dedicated sevens squad, now playing together for some time, who have worked hard on their skill-set and conditioning. So if any of those players are involved in their team selection, it’s going to take us to be on our game, 1 to 22, to get a result.

"But that’s exactly the kind of challenge our new squad needs."

Scotland have met their Dutch counterparts on four previous occasions, most recently in 2009 when the Scots won, 38-18.
Scotland Women to play Netherlands Women on Sunday 6 November at the National Rugby Stadium in Amsterdam, kick-off 1pm local time.
15 Stephanie Johnston (RHC)
14 Lauren Harris (Melrose)
13 Caroline Collie (OA Saints)
12 Laura Steven (Murrayfield Wanderers)
11 Sarah Dixon (Stirling County)
10 Lisa Ritchie (Carlisle)
9 Sarah Sexton (Murrayfield Wanderers)
1 Heather Lockhart (Hillhead / Jordanhill)
2 Sarah Quick (Murrayfield Wanderers)
3 Tracy Balmer (Worcester)
4 Lindsay Wheeler (Richmond)
5 Anna Swan (RHC)
6 Charlotte Veale (London Wasps)
7 Ruth Slaven (Murrayfield Wanderers)
8 Susannah Brown (Richmond) (Captain)
Substitutes
16 Alison Macdonald (RHC)
17 Suzanne McKerlie-Hex (Murrayfield Wanderers)
18 Jemma Forsyth (Hillhead / Jordanhill)
19 Lana Skeldon (Melrose)
20 Hollie Davidson (Edinburgh University)
21 Katy Green (Murrayfield Wanderers)
22 Megan Gaffney (Murrayfield Wanderers)

The 2011 / 2012 Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup tournaments will kick-off in November 2011, less than three weeks after the Rugby World Cup reaches its climax with the final in Auckland, New Zealand, on 23 October.

Due to the staging of the World Cup, the two European club rugby tournaments will start later than usual. Once the opening two rounds are completed in November, the tournaments will revert to their customary format with Rounds 3 and 4 scheduled for December, and Rounds 5 and 6 taking place in January, 2012.

ERC today (Thursday, 31 March) announced the season structure for the 2011 / 2012 competitions with the 17^thHeineken Cup final being staged at Twickenham on the weekend of 19 / 20 May 2012 and the 16^thAmlin Challenge Cup final being played over the same weekend.

2011 / 2012 HEINEKEN CUP AND AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP DATES

ROUND 1 – 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 November, 2011

ROUND 2 – 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 November, 2011

ROUND 3 – 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 December, 2011

ROUND 4 – 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 December, 2011

ROUND 5 – 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 January, 2012

ROUND 6 – 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 January, 2012

QUARTER-FINALS – 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 April, 2012

SEMI-FINALS – 27 / 28 / 29 April, 2012

FINALS – 18 / 19 / 20 May, 2012

Martin Johnson has named a largely unchanged England team to face Ireland on Saturday. Matt Banahan steps in at outside centre to replace injured captain Mike Tindall in the only change to the starting lineup from last weeks Scotland game. The replacements bench sees Saracens winger David Strettle return to the England fold for the first time since the infamous 2008 summer tour to New Zealand. Nick Easter replaces the injured Tindall as captain, as England hope to win their first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2003. Mark Cueto will win his 50th England cap, making his debut in November 2004.

15. Ben Foden (Northampton Saints)
14. Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
13. Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby)
12. Shontane Hape (Bath Rugby)
11. Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks)
10. Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

1. Alex Corbisiero (London Irish)
2. Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
4. Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers)
5. Tom Palmer (Stade Francais)
6. Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
7. James Haskell (Stade Francais)
8. Nick Easter (Harlequins)

Replacements: Steve Thompson (Leeds Carnegie), Paul Doran-Jones (Gloucester Rugby), Simon Shaw (London Wasps), Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), Danny Care (Harlequins), Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon), David Strettle (Saracens)

Easter did captain England in their win against Samoa last November and had been tipped by many to captain England for this campaign in place of the injured Lewis Moody before Tindall was given the armband.

England have lost six of their last seven games against the Irish, with their last win in Dublin coincidently being when they last won the Grand Slam, Six Nations and Triple Crown. The English will be hoping to repeat that 2003 triumph although it’s highly unlikely they’ll repeat the 42-6 scoreline that the 2003 team managed that day.

The Sheffield born half-back is a product of the Gloucester academy, and will move to Kingston Park for the start of the 2011/12 campaign.

Pasqualin, who currently plays for England under-20s, has made 15 appearances for the Cherry and Whites so far this season including an Aviva Premiership outing against the Falcons back in November.

Head coach Alan Tait said: “I’m keen to build a young team here and Jordi is somebody I’ve been looking at. I like the way he plays the game and nine times out of 10 he will always find his No.10 with the pass.

“This is a step forward as we look to bring attacking rugby to Kingston Park.”

The club are still in the market for further additions to the backline.

Currently 60% of all scrums collapse in Tier 1 internationals and 40% of scrums are required to be reset while the average time taken to complete a scrum has risen from 41 seconds to 53.

Despite a slight decrease in the number of collapses and resets since the new engagement sequence was introduced last year, the IRB remains determined to tackle the issues and ensure that this critical facet of the Game is a spectacle and a contest.

Coaching representatives from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales pledged to work with the IRB to deliver a stable scrum platform at a highly positive and productive forum in London on Tuesday evening.

In addition to expressing their support for the scrum engagement sequence, the coaches also gave their backing to the IRB’s policy of the strict application of scrum Law, including ensuring straight put-ins. The coaches also support the IRB policy which mandates that referees should crack down on illegal front row binding with a collective emphasis on ensuring that the tight head prop binds on the body of the loose head prop and not the arm and the loose head prop adopts the correct body position and binds on the body of the opposition tight head.

This collaborative approach will be critical in assisting to address the problematic aspects of the scrum. Last year a similar approach agreed by all Tier 1 coaches led to a crackdown in key areas of Law: offside at the breakdown; offside from kicks; illegal maul formation and strict application of the tackle Law. This resulted in a return to attacking Rugby.

"The meeting was extremely constructive and highly productive. All found it beneficial and it was encouraging to see universal agreement from the coaches about the need to continue to penalise the clear and the obvious in the five key areas of Law and in particular the need to address the scrum issues that are currently experienced at elite level,” said IRB Referee Manager Paddy O’Brien.

“We are encouraged that teams recognise there is a collective responsibility to ensure that the high number of collapses and resets is reduced. The coaches expressed their full support for referees to employ a zero tolerance policy towards engagement offences and have given a commitment that their teams will endeavour to be compliant in producing a stable, steady scrum by binding correctly. The scrum is an integral facet of the Game and by working together we can target the issues while ensuring that player welfare continues to be the most important consideration.”

A directive will be issued to all Unions reinforcing the message. The coaches forum has become a regular fixture ahead of the RBS Six Nations, Tri Nations, June and November Tests and underscores the IRB’s commitment to an open and transparent process of collaboration and communication between the IRB and its Member Unions in all areas of refereeing practice.

Notes to editors:

Attendees: Martin Johnson (RFU), Marc Lievremont & Didier Retiere (FFR), Declan Kidney & Gert Smal (IRFU), Alessandro Troncon (FIR), Andy Robinson (SRU), Warren Gatland (WRU), David Pickering (Six Nations Chairman and Chairman of IRB Referee Selection Committee), John Feehan (Six Nations Chief Executive), Bill Beaumount (IRB Vice Chairman), Mike Miller (IRB Chief Executive), Mark Egan (IRB Head of Development and Performance), Paddy O’Brien (IRB Referee Manager), Rhys Jones (IRB Game Analyst).

IRB Scrum statistics at Tier 1 level (Feb 2009 – December 2010)

Average scrums per match = 16, Average collapse per match = 9, Average resets per match = 6 Average Penalties/FKs per match = 5.2

The 2009 Six Nations had the highest reset rate with 47 per 100 scrums, the 2010 Six Nations had the highest collapse rate with 67 per 100 scrums. November 2009 had the lowest number of resets with 29 per 100 scrums and June 2009 had the lowest number of collapses with 47 per 100 scrums.

2009 Tri Nations collapses on engagement 52 per 100 scrums, post engagement 39 per 100 scrums. 2010 Tri Nations (current scrum sequence) collapses on engagement 25 per 100 scrums, post engagement 31 per 100 scrums.

Average time taken per scrum: 2009 Six Nations 43 seconds, 2010 November 53 seconds.