Saints' Ramm given two-match ban for Pau red card

Northampton winger James Ramm has been given a two-match ban after receiving a red card in their European Champions Cup win in Pau.

Ramm spent 20 minutes in the sin-bin for pulling down lock Thomas Jolmes as he caught the ball in the air.

An independent disciplinary panel found him guilty of a "reckless act" but reduced the maximum four-week suspension by 50% because he accepted the charge and had apologised to Jolmes.

Ramm will miss Sunday's home Champions Cup game against Pretoria Bulls and the Prem Rugby fixture against Sale Sharks on 20 December.

He is the second Northampton player to receive a two-week ban for a similar offence this month following Edoardo Todaro, who was sent off in their league game against Bristol Bears.

Speaking following the game in Pau, director of rugby Phil Dowson told BBC Radio Northampton: "With the rules they brought in with regards to competing in the air, things like that are going to happen.

"Rambo [Ramm] hasn't meant to drag him down, he's gone to slap the ball back and it happens in nano-seconds. I would say that's a yellow card.

"But a 20-minute red, we had to deal with it and there were other things in the game from a refereeing point of view that I thought were more obvious than that."