The Ulster second-row Matt McCullough was yesterday charged with two counts of racially abusing the London Irish full-back Delon Armitage during and after the Heineken Cup matches between the sides last month. McCullough will appear before a European Rugby Cup Limited disciplinary panel later this month after an investigation by ERC into complaints made by London Irish.
The 25-year-old faces two misconduct charges, each of which carries a minimum ban of four weeks if he is found guilty, up to a maximum of a year. London Irish conducted their own inquiry after the second match and said that Armitage had received an apology "from an Ulster player for using foul and abusive language". Ulster said the apology did not amount to an admission of racial abuse and Irish forwarded the details of its investigation to ERC, resulting in yesterday's charges.
The Ulster and Ireland centre Kevin Maggs yesterday signed a two-year contract with Bristol. He will join the Premiership leaders in the summer, along with the Waikato and New Zealand Maori hooker Scott Linklater.
Gloucester's No8 James Forrester will appear before an RFU disciplinary committee next Tuesday after being cited for allegedly kneeing the Sale outside-half David Blair during Saturday's Premiership match, in an incident which left the Scotland Under-21 international with damaged ribs and eight weeks on the sidelines.
Scotland has named a 33-man squad for the Six Nations, including four uncapped players in Robbie Kydd, Alasdair Dickinson, John Barclay and Calum McRae. The backs Simon Danielli, Rory Lamont and Nikki Walker were recalled after missing the autumn Tests, along with the forwards Scott MacLeod and Donnie Macfadyean.
The six national unions behind the Heineken Cup have agreed in principle to a new accord which will guarantee the tournament for the next five years. ERC's executive will draw up a draft agreement for a February 6 board meeting. The French clubs, who threatened to boycott next season's cup over fixture congestion, did not attend yesterday meeting but their union said France would be taking part.
