Wasps are hoping a disciplinary hearing in London on Tuesday will find in favour of their No8 Nathan Hughes after he was sent off against Northampton on Friday. Hughes faces a charge of striking George North with his knee and/or shin and will sit out his side’s European Champions Cup quarter-final in Toulon if found guilty.
North was knocked unconscious directly after scoring the second of his two tries in Northampton’s bonus-point win but the Wasps director of rugby, Dai Young, said it was an accidental collision and “definitely” felt Hughes should not have been dismissed.
The 23-year-old Fiji-born forward will appear before a Rugby Football Union disciplinary panel chaired by Sir James Dingemans. North, who has suffered three confirmed concussions in two months, is also awaiting a specialist opinion on when he can return to the game. Northampton are biding their time before issuing any fresh update on North’s condition, with some experts recommending the Wales wing should not play again this season.
Should Wasps beat Toulon, Europe’s defending champions, on Sunday their semi-final would be played at Brighton FC’s 30,000-capacity Amex Stadium on the weekend of 18-19 April. If Northampton beat Clermont Auvergne on Saturday their semi-final will be staged at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, Wasps’ new permanent home.
Scotland’s Dutch-born winger Tim Visser is to join Harlequins in the summer. Visser has spent almost six years with Edinburgh since joining from Newcastle in 2009. The 27-year-old has scored seven tries in 18 international appearances and has topped the Pro12’s try-scoring charts for the past four seasons. “He is and always has been a finisher and, with the margins between winning and losing so small, players like Tim can be the difference,” said the Harlequins director of rugby, Conor O’Shea.