Tindall's England hopes boosted by Bath return

The Bath centre Mike Tindall could be back in action for his club at the weekend after finishing full-contact training yesterday with no ill effects.

The head coach, John Connolly, said: "Mike had a full-contact session today. His right ankle was a bit sore at the end of it and we will make a decision, probably on Wednesday.

"But if he is passed fit he will start the Powergen Cup quarter-final tie at Leeds. He is keen to get back on the field and get himself in the frame for the Six Nations, but that eagerness is tempered with a lot of common sense; he doesn't want to come back too early.''

But it was not all good news at The Rec; the full-back Matt Perry will undergo a groin operation which will rule him out for the rest of the season.

The Wales centre Sonny Parker is out after fracturing his left thumb in the defeat against Ireland on Sunday. The Wales coach, Steve Hansen, yesterday promised that there would be other changes too. "There will be tactical changes and form changes," he said. "The performance against Ireland was not good enough."

The Saracens coach, Rod Kafer, faces a touchline ban and a hefty fine after being charged by the Rugby Football Union with bringing the game into disrepute yesterday. He will appear before a disciplinary panel in London next Tuesday to answer a charge about comments he was alleged to have made to officials after the defeat to Northampton earlier this month.