Tuesday 23 December 2014 23:55, UK
Northampton and England hooker Dylan Hartley has been suspended for three weeks for elbowing Leicester's Matt Smith.
The length of the ban - he will be able to return on 12 January - will come as a huge relief to England coach Stuart Lancaster, as Hartley will be able to play in the Six Nations.
Hartley was sent off just 17 minutes into last weekend's East Midlands derby, which Northampton won 23-19.
Referee J P Doyle initially seemed happy to award Hartley a yellow card, but television match official Sean Davey urged Doyle to watch further replays, and he responded by sending off Hartley.
Hartley pleaded guilty to the charge of striking in a disciplinary hearing held via conference call on Tuesday evening.
RFU judicial officer Jeremy Summers said: "The sanction reflects the low end entry point of the offence, which carries a two-week tariff.
"The entry point was aggravated having regard to Dylan's previous record and a week was taken off to reflect mitigating circumstances. As such the sanction reflects the player's record rather than the seriousness of the offence itself."
A ban of six weeks or more would have jeopardised both Hartley's Six Nations chances and his future Test career in light of a previous disciplinary rap sheet including eye-gouging, biting, punching and swearing.
In 2007 Hartley was handed a 26-week ban for eye-gouging, and he was hit with an 11-week suspension for verbally abusing referee Wayne Barnes during the 2013 Aviva Premiership final against Leicester.
Hartley, who has won 61 England caps, has now been banned for a total of 50 weeks during his playing career.
Hartley recently rejected a big-money contract offer from Montpellier to sign a three-year deal with Northampton that will keep him at Franklin's Gardens until 2018.
