MAGNERS LEAGUE: LEICESTER WERE yesterday consulting their lawyers before deciding whether to appeal against the six-week ban given to the England scrumhalf, Harry Ellis, for a dangerous tackle on Daniel Carter during the Tigers' Heineken Cup defeat in Perpignan last Sunday.

Ellis, who came on as a replacement 11 minutes from the end of the match at the Stade Aime Giral, was cited for the offence and appeared before a European Rugby Cup Ltd disciplinary panel in Dublin yesterday.

While admitting his challenge on Carter, Perpignan's All Black outhalf, who said his headlong descent to the ground was "pretty scary", was dangerous, the Leicester scrumhalf denied that it had amounted to a spear tackle.

The Tigers had banned him for a week, ruling him out of today's Guinness Premiership match against Newcastle at Welford Road, and hoped the tackle would be regarded at the lower end of the scale in terms of intent.

But the panel decided it was near the top and imposed a suspension that will keep Ellis out until January 26th.

England's first Six Nations match is against Italy at Twickenham less than two weeks later. Leicester do not have a fixture the week before the start of the championship.

Ellis will miss Leicester's key Heineken Cup match away to the Ospreys next month as well as league fixtures against Harlequins (at Twickenham), Bath and Northampton and a European match against Treviso.

The danger in appealing is that a new disciplinary panel that would hear the case would have the power to increase as well as cut the suspension.

"We are very disappointed that what we saw as a clumsy tackle has been characterised by the panel as an offence at the top end of the range of offending," said Leicester in a statement. "We will consider an appeal in consultation with the club's lawyers."

Leicester have 72 hours, after receiving the panel's decision in full and in writing, in which to lodge an appeal. Ellis, 26, came off the bench in all four of England's November Tests, with Danny Care starting each time. He will miss the opportunity to go head-to-head with the Harlequin before 50,000 spectators at Twickenham next weekend.

Perpignan have had their own brush with ERC's disciplinarians this season. The hooker Marius Tincu was banned for 18 weeks for gouging the Ospreys prop Paul James and the Catalan club threatened to pull out of the Heineken Cup after losing an appeal.

Tincu was yesterday granted permission to play in the domestic championship after a ruling by the Comite National Olympique et Sportif Français, France's top sporting body, that could have implications for the European game. It argued a suspension in one competition should not apply to another. By that logic Tincu will miss 18 weeks of European action.

Meanwhile, Italy could have four clubs or two "super sides" in the Celtic League under plans outlined by its rugby federation yesterday.

The Azzurri lost all three of their November internationals, including a 25-17 defeat by the Pacific Islanders who had never previously won a Test in their four-year history.

In an effort to improve the standard of the national side, the Italian Rugby Federation said last month it would discuss whether to place club sides in the Welsh, Irish and Scottish League.

"The federation board . . . has decided unanimously to add the Italian rugby movement to the Magners (Celtic) League," the federation said in a statement.

"The federation will quickly adopt proposals to guarantee the participation of four clubs in the Celtic League or two select XVs."

The select XVs are likely to be amalgamations of clubs or a collection of Italians not employed by top teams in England or France.

Celtic League bosses had previously welcomed the idea of adding Italian sides.

A committee to run the Azzurris bid for the 2015 World Cup has also been formed, the federation said.

Guardian Service

PWDL F A B Pts

Munster7601165 96 2 26 Ospreys 7403165 112 4 20

Glasgow7403132 99 4 20

Leinster 7313146 100 3 17

Ulster7304126119 4 16

Edinburgh 7304130 138 4 16

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Scarlets 6303136121 2 14

Cardiff6213120119 1 11

Connacht7205 67225 0 8

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