Leicester skipper Martin Johnson will return to club action following his 21 day ban this Sunday when the Tigers take on Wasps and the England stalwart has demanded consistency from the RFU when dealing with indisciplne.

Johnson has not turned out for the Tigers since landing the infamous punch on Saracens hooker Robbie Russell which eventually resulted in a three-week ban.

Johnson insists he is not bitter about the treatment but remains adamant he was picked on because of his standing in the game.

"There is no doubt about that at all," he said. "On the same day that I got sin-binned for one punch someone else got sin-binned for seven. I went to a hearing, and he didn't.

"It did not get me down, and I am not bitter. But you do look for some consistency."

RFU chief executive Francis Baron announced on Monday that a new code of conduct will be in place for the start of next season to afford "zero tolerance" to acts of on-field thuggery.

Johnson, who has a chequered disciplinary past, is sceptical about whether the plan will achieve its aims and added that he will not change his mental approach for this weekend's trip to London despite the recent uproar.

"The key to it is not to get into trouble at all," he said.

"But you can worry about what happened three weeks ago. I didn't start the trouble against Saracens. I had the ball, and someone ran into the back of me.

"He still had hold of me when I punched him - of course, I know I didn't have to do that."

"It would have been nice to have had an input into this - but no one consulted us," added Leicester director of rugby Dean Richards.

"I do not have any problem with it, providing there is some consistency. I do not want the RFU just to pick on high-profile players.

"There are various ways the present structure could be improved. Robert Horner (RFU disciplinary officer) came to Leicester and sat down with me and (Tigers' chief executive) Peter Wheeler for an hour and didn't take up any of the proposals even though some of the ones we put forward are the ones being mentioned now."

Richards is welcoming the return of Johnson, meanwhile, but has also warned the Tigers must still work hard as a team.

"It is great to have Martin back - he's an inspirational figure who leads from the front," he said.

"However, his presence mustn't give us a false sense of security. It is important the other players do their jobs as well."

Johnson could conceivably lead his team to their fourth consecutive Premiership title at Loftus Road should other results go their way.

It would match Bath's feats of the pre-professional era and also put the Tigers in line for a repeat of their treble haul last year, with only the Heineken Cup and Zurich Championship still to defend.

"It would be a marvellous achievement but it was great when we had only won it once," said Johnson, who will return to the second row despite a niggling shoulder problem.

"We have been proud of our consistency this season. There has never been a game when we have not been up for it or where we have been beaten easily. I hope we can continue that.

"Wasps are quite low in the league but they have been playing well recently, and Lawrence Dallaglio is back for them now.

"They have a big set of forwards, and it is always a difficult game down there. But we have got some big games to come ourselves and we want to keep on winning."

If Leicester are to secure the Premiership title they need the following results:

March 30th 2:00pm Gloucester vs Saracens
Gloucester lose and do not get either bonus point.

March 31st 2:30pm Newcastle Falcons vs Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks do not win and get the try scoring bonus point.

March 31st 3:00pm London Wasps vs Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers win and get the try scoring bonus point.