James set for disciplinary hearing after Saints scrum-half is cited for incident in Toulon clash

James came off the bench to play on the wing after Ollie Sleightholme was forced off in the 58th minute.

But he could now be hit with a ban after a complaint was made by the match citing commissioner, Beth Dickens.

James is alleged to have struck Toulon scrum-half Ben White with his head in the 70th minute of the match in contravention of Law 9.12 (physical abuse of an opponent – striking with the head).

Under World Rugby’s sanctions for foul play, Law 9.12 relating to striking with the head carries a low-end sanction entry point of six weeks, a mid-range of 10 weeks and a top-end of 16 to 104 weeks.

James will have his case heard via a video conference on Tuesday.

Pamela Woodman (Scotland), Chair, Marcello D’Orey (Portugal) and Gordon Black (Ireland) have been appointed as the independent disciplinary committee for the hearing.

Saints can ill afford to lose James for any length of time given he can provide them with an extra option on the wing, which is an area they are currently struggling with.

They lost George Hendy, Tom Seabrook and Sleightholme to injury against Toulon last Friday, and James Ramm is already sidelined long term with a knee problem.