Johnson's at risk from small print

Instead of serving one week of the suspension imposed at HQ last Thursday, Johnson will have served only two days. Losing the action would expose him to the real danger of the five days suspended pending the appeal being added on at the end of the original sentence.

That had been due to lift on February 2, the day before England's next match, but the appeal will now change the timetable. The RFU will hardly want to be seen flouting their own rules merely to suit the England captain.

Its disciplinary officer Robert Horner said: 'The rule is there in the handbook. It is arguable whether the committee has power to disregard it or say that it will not apply in any circumstances. That is something for the committee to decide.

'The rule has been there for some time. It has to be there because if you are successful in your appeal, it would be contrary to natural justice should you suffer in the interim. If you fail in the appeal, then the full sentence has to be served and you would have had a bit of freedom in the middle.

'It would be totally wrong of me to anticipate what the tribunal will seek to do or not to do. It is for them to hear all the facts and the arguments and then decide what they are going to do about it within a regulatory framework.'

Instead of accepting the five-week punishment, after being found guilty on three counts of foul play during the Cup tie against Saracens last month, Johnson and Leicester are basing their appeal on a belief that the sentence is 'harsh'.

They do so despite the fact that last Thursday's panel reduced the standard six-week ban for stamping by one week on the grounds that the offence was committed in the context of a match containing 'many acts of violence which apparently went unpunished'.

If the panel, chaired by former England captain John Spencer, confirms the five-week ban, Leicester will doubtless argue against the book being thrown at Johnson, or, in particular, the first paragraph on page 189. Their defence will be that they sought no unfair advantage and had no intention of playing Johnson while the appeal was pending.

'The system is there to be manipulated but that is not what we are doing,' said Tigers' chief executive Peter Wheeler, a member of the RFU council. 'It would have been easy for us to have lodged the appeal next week and have had Martin available for our European Cup tie in Pau. But we are not doing that.'

Leicester will claim that other players guilty of stamping have received shorter suspensions than Johnson.

They will not be citing the case of Llanelli flanker Ian Boobyer, out of his club's two remaining European Cup pool games because of a six-match Welsh Rugby Union ban for stamping on Newport's Australian full back Matt Pini.

Johnson, who trained at Leicester yesterday, reopens the case buoyed by the unconditional backing of England coach Andy Robinson.

'The fact that he has quickly come out and publicly backed me means a great deal, ' said Johnson on his website.

'I shall certainly be going all out to repay his loyalty to me as soon as I get the chance.'

He will know for sure this evening whether that will be before or after the match against Wales.