Tigers ban bad boy Youngs

England scrumhalf Ben Youngs has been suspended for one week by Premiership club Leicester after he was cited for allegedly striking an opponent during the Premiership win away to London Irish.

Youngs was accused of striking Exiles No.8 Jamie Gibson on Sunday after he appeared to drop his knee onto the forward before punching him.

But shortly after the governing Rugby Football Union issued a statement Wednesday outlining the citing Leicester, in what seemed an attempt to pre-empt more severe external disciplinary action, announced they had banned Youngs for one week after a club review found him "guilty of striking an opponent".

A Leicester statement said: "Ben has been banned for one week and will not be available for selection for Friday's home game against Worcester Warriors.

"This is obviously a disappointment to Ben after just returning to the club from international duty (with England in the Six Nations)."

Earlier, an RFU statement confirmed Youngs had been cited by match citing officer Wade Dooley, the former England lock, under Law 10 (4) (a) which covers striking with the knee and a hand, arm or fist.

The minimum suspension Youngs could receive if found guilty would be the low-end entry point of two weeks, while the high-end entry point is a ban of 12 weeks or more.

Any ban would hamper Leicester's bid to reach an eighth-straight Premiership final, while a lengthy suspension would call into question Young's availability for England's tour of South Africa in June.

Leicester beat London Irish 41-32 at the Madejski Stadium to move third in the Premiership table.

AFP