The hooker can have no complaint at his six-week ban given his poor disciplinary record and the fact that rugby is cracking down on tackles to the head
Rugby has always been a game of sliding doors. What if Dylan Hartley had started for Northampton in the Champions’ Cup game against Leinster last Friday night, rather than steaming in off the bench with a point to prove? Would he have administered a swinging arm to the head of Sean O’Brien in a Test-match arena, where his recent disciplinary record is good? Would there have been as much fuss if he was not the current England captain and a potential contender for Lions captain?
Questions, questions. What we do know is that Hartley would have made his life far simpler had he kept his right arm uncocked. A six-week ban feels fair enough: a five-week suspension for the offence with two weeks added for his chequered previous record and one taken away for his guilty plea. Both his captain and his director of rugby agreed it was a red card on the night, as did the BT Sport pundits Lawrence Dallaglio and Brian O’Driscoll. “Stupid” and “reckless” were the words O’Driscoll used and, even allowing for O’Brien falling slightly, it was hard to disagree.
Related: Dylan Hartley banned for six weeks leaving him available for Six Nations
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