SALE Sharks' back row forward Chris Jones faces an anxious wait after a Rugby Football Union disciplinary panel demanded more time to examine evidence arising from an incident during the clash with London Irish on October 31.

Jones - touted as a future England forward - has pleaded not guilty to striking and the three-man disciplinary panel has adjourned the case until next week to give them further time to consult match referee Roy Maybank and the two players.

Earlier in the evening the same RFU panel handed three players bans totalling eight weeks for fighting during Northampton's clash with Gloucester at Franklin's Gardens on November 29 - stoking up the fires burning beneath the return fixture in the process.

The violence erupted during first-half injury time with the flashpoint centering around a confrontation between Shane Drahm and Duncan McRae, with Drahm's Saints team-mate Mark Robinson receiving a straight red card for joining the melee.

Robinson has landed a three-week suspension for striking, beginning tomorrow, while Drahm was given the more lenient punishment of a two-week suspension for the same offence, also starting tomorrow.

McRae's case was dismissed but Andy Hazell, the Gloucester flanker who was shown a yellow card for flattening Drahm with a late challenge during the same match, was hit with a three-week suspension, although his lay-off is back-dated to November 2.

In a pre-emptive strike, Hazell was suspended indefinitely earlier in the week by the Cherry and Whites for his involvement in the fight, pending the outcome of tonight's disciplinary which was held in Coventry. Tweet