The op seems to think the attack was justified,says a lot about him.The player should have got a ten game ban carried into next season.

The referee was unsighted given that it happened behind him while play was progressing, his assistant thought he saw retaliation as Ashton was stood behind Tuilangi from his point of view at the moment that Ashton lifts his arm (to defend himself as it transpired), the other assistant had most of the other players between him and the incident - who would make the decision to send the player off ?

If you are suggesting trial by video ref at the scene of the incident then we are straying into (almost) unprecedented territory, the discipline committee made the correct decision in the end and thats how it always will be.

Agreed. How McLaren can call that good officiating is bewildering. It was disgraceful actions, and both the player and the match official should get long bans.

You have just rubber-stamped your classification of School Idiot.

Tuilangi should have been sent off and be looking at a lengthy ban. Stuart Barnes was going nuts about how the ref and touch judge could keep Tuilangi on the pitch. It would appear that the RFU disiciplinary committee is as bizarre as its RFL counterpart when using a shove after a late tackle as mitigating circumstances for assualt. Interesting that a 5 week ban allows Tuilangi to be available for England.

Good. It is better than any self respecting parent justifying what you did.

So as a parent I can handle that childish comment. But as a fellow one, you should be ashamed.

Go back and read what I said and then review the video and consider what the referee and TJ saw in normal speed without the benefit of replays and mock outrage, then consider what the referee did next and the conversation that he had with his assistant.

Then tell me how you would have done it differently given that your back was turned to the incident throughout it.

To be fair to ashton he did much better than fielden. He took 3 good shots and was still on his feet. Fielden wentdown like a sack of S?!t after one blow, and was not the same player for years!!!

I have always been a proponent of VRs being able to review such incidents live during the game.
In this case though, it's up to the officials to see these things.

Both propositions are an ideal world situation though - in a disciplinary hearing you have the benefit of distance from the event, isolation from what has gone on in the game as a whole and the benefit of several opinions as well as (and probably just as important), legal submissions and the submission of evidence/expression of remorse from the players involved as well as consideration of previous record.

You can't squeeze all of that into a video van and come up with an instant and robust conviction can you and even if you could you would leave the code(s) open to potential legal responses afterwards.

Personally I don't expect a referee to be able to spot off-the ball incidents, I expect him to follow the play, maybe theres a case for the assistants to be watching the wider picture but in RL we see so many times how a referee (some more than others) will be very reticent to use his assistants in any other roll than to mark where a ball went into touch.

And if they don't see them as they are behind play like this one should the officials face long bans for not seeing them, like Gotcha says?