Fan grabs Johns by the throat

Ireland captain Paddy Johns was attacked by a supporter during yesterday's English Cup fifth-round tie between Lydney and Saracens at Regentsholm.

Second-row forward Johns confirmed after Saracens' 40-0 victory that he was "grabbed by the throat" during a second-half fracas.

Johns' Saracens team-mate, centre Ryan Constable, was yellow carded by referee Steve Lander after going to his colleague's assistance.

"I pulled a player towards the advertising hoarding, and some bloke grabbed me by the throat and pulled me back over the rail," Johns said.

"I was pinned there for 20 or 30 seconds. Nothing like this has happened to me before, but it is no big deal."

More than 3,000 packed Regentsholm for the biggest day in Lydney's history, but tempers were frayed between both sides throughout much of the game.

Saracens player/coach Francois Pienaar claimed he was kicked in the face, an incident which sparked the 44th minute flare-up involving Johns and Constable.

"A couple of the crowd grabbed Paddy, and allegedly started strangling him. Some of the players went to the rescue - I thought there two or three spectators involved," Pienaar said.

"We won't be taking it any further, but the incident was an unsavoury one," Pienaar added.

The match began with a mass punch-up inside 40 seconds, and Pienaar claims he was mystified why Lander had awarded a penalty against him.

"Lydney were very fired up, they wanted a big start. They had a reputation for being physical, and the crowd got behind them throughout the game," Pienaar added.