Northampton head coach Jim Mallinder has hinted that Saints are looking to appeal against Chris Ashton's four-week ban.

The England winger was given the suspension by the RFU disciplinary panel on Tuesday and is set to miss two Heineken Cup matches as well as two Aviva Premiership matches over the festive period.

Ashton was disciplined for hauling Leicester player Alesan Tuilagi into touch by his hair, causing a mass brawl that resulted in two men being sent off.

"We think that four weeks is fairly harsh. Of course we don't want these incidents to happen but it was actually an isolated incident and I don't know if that would be a red card or not in a normal game," Mallinder told Sky Sports News.

"We think that four weeks is fairly harsh. Of course we don't want these incidents to happen but it was actually an isolated incident and I don't know if that would be a red card or not in a normal game."

Northampton have until Friday to appeal against the ban.