Dylan Hartley’s greatest opponent is himself, Jamie George and Owen Farrell can both replace him and it was a good weekend for the Irish
If Dylan Hartley had not been sent off we would all be talking about Leinster’s excellence. Perhaps we still should be; even when they were down to their third-choice fly-half the Irish side looked revitalised, for which credit must go both to the players and, in particular, their reshuffled coaching panel. The contrast with Northampton’s flat-footed start was particularly glaring, as the home skipper Tom Wood made abundantly clear after his side’s 37-10 home drubbing. Ultimately though, Hartley’s 58th-minute red card for a forearm smash to the back of Sean O’Brien’s head was the kind of moment that shapes perceptions and undermines career prospects. Excuses were non-existent: it had not been a dirty game, O’Brien had already been tackled and had his back to his oncoming assailant, who had been on the field for less than six minutes. Given Hartley’s own past concussion issues it was doubly crass, reckless behaviour.
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