Dylan Hartley does deserves the 4 week ban handed to him by the RFU however I am very scared about the knock on effect it will have to England’s World Cup campaign.
In my article about the Semi-Final match between Northampton and Saracens I made a key point about one of the signs that showed me during the match that Saracens would win – it was the fact Sarries got clean under Dylan Hartley’s skin.
We all know how volatile Hartley can be. He’s no stranger to being disciplined which is one of the saddest facts of his career. I think he is a fantastic player. He is by far the best Hooker England have got …but my goodness does he need to learn to behave himself.
A list of his offences are:
Eye Gouging two opponents (one of which was an England teammate) – which led to a 26 week ban
Biting an opponent – which led to an 8 week ban
Punching an opponent – another 2 week ban
Verbally Abusing a match official – 11 week ban – and he missed out on a British and Irish Lions Tour
Elbowing an opponent – another 3 weeks away from Rugby.
He has now been found guilty of striking Jamie George with his head and been given a four week suspension which means that across his career he has accumulated an entire year of suspensions.
I’m beginning to wonder whether he has any body parts left to illegally hurt someone with on the Rugby field and yet he still hasn’t learnt from his lessons
I remember when it happened on Saturday I was aghast that Hartley was going to get away with it. My initial reaction was one of Saracens are missing out on gaining a clear advantage but the more I thought about it… it’s a case of protecting the sport. Many people would have been watching the match, young and old, and to not sanction the head-butt tells everyone that because the game is a brutal one it is ok to do that. Which it isn’t.
I don’t blame the referee. I lay a little blame at the Video Official. But really the player is to be blamed. It doesn’t matter how wound up you get… it doesn’t matter what they do to you, it is never acceptable to react in that manner – on the Sports field or anywhere. Thanks goodness that the RFU took the hard decision.
I understand that Hartley must have some issues which I am not qualified to fully comment on or analyse but until he can prove that these are under control he should be very wary of being allowed back on the field of play.
I know that a lot of players do it. I remember seeing the great Martin Johnson punch Robbie Russell of Saracens, which he got sent off for – but it wasn’t a perpetual problem with Johnson – it was a shocking one-off, and that wasn’t what defined Martin Johnson as a player. But it is defining Hartley as a player. It was a tactic that Mark McCall clearly asked Burger and George to execute but the fact that an opposing coach can use it as a tactic just isn’t good enough. One other thing that must be mentioned is that Dylan Hartley is the Captain of Northampton Saints – a position his on field conduct must reflect. You can’t have club captains behaving like little school children on the rugby field gouging eyes and headbutting opponents – it’s just bad for the game.
Dylan Hartley is a professional. He must behave like one. He lets everyone down every time he does something like this and it’s not going to be long before it really costs the team he is playing for. I just hope it’s not England in a few months time.
Main Photo: NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – MAY 23: Dylan Hartley, the Northampton Saints captain looks on during the Aviva Premiership play off semi final match between Northampton Saints and Saracens at Franklin’s Gardens on May 23, 2015 in Northampton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
