TIGERS LOSE YOUNGS BROS

LEICESTER look set for a double blow ahead of their relegation run-in, with Tom Youngs facing a six-week ban and brother Ben out for three months after shoulder surgery.

Captain Tom Youngs, 32, will plead guilty to a shoulder charge at an RFU hearing tonight. Ben Youngs, 29, had surgery last week, and will be out until late June.

Tigers hooker Tom (below) was sent off in the 52-20 loss by Exeter on Saturday which put Leicester in a precarious position with four games to go.

If it is proven that he struck the head of Chiefs’ Ollie Atkins, suspensions start at six weeks. His boss Geordan Murphy is resigned to losing Youngs for the season, but hopes for a ban reduction. ‘To the letter of the law it’s a red card,’ said Murphy. ‘He’s not a dirty player and was apologetic. You have to plead guilty. I’m hoping it is in the six to eight week bracket — he has a genuine defence but he made contact with the head, so hopefully they will go six weeks. SALE Sharks prop Jake Pope has been given a six-month ban for becoming the first player to twice break the sport’s rules on recreational drugs, the Rugby Football Union has announced. Pope, 21, tested positive for cocaine in 2017 and then tested positive for cannabis and cocaine last November.