http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/32891054
Looks like Hartley could be heading towards a 6th Ban. He's already missed 50 weeks of rugby due to offenses including eye gouging and biting. Now i'm not a huge fan of the guy, but he's been a damned good player at times and looked like he was coming into some form which bode well for England in the World Cup. The article states that the chances are he will miss the warm ups at the very least.
What do you all think? Will he be given another chance, or is his time up?
Terrible record either way and i'll be interested in seeing what happens with this one.
Edit: Just noticed that @smartcooky has posted about this in the semi final thread. He also put it much better than i did, so i'll just post what he has stated below...
Hartley cited for a head-butt
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/201...mpton-saracens
Honestly, if Hartley cops a big ban and misses the RWC, then IMO that will increase England's chances of winning it. Hartley is a loose cannon with an appalling disciplinary record that almost descends to Danny Grewcock levels. Foe mine, he's a liability for any team he plays in, and the risk factor associated with having him play in a major match is not outweighed by his skills as a player.
For the record, has lack of discipline includes incidents of eye-gouging, biting and punching, as detailed here:
Not listed is the raft of yellow cards he has received
Looks like Hartley could be heading towards a 6th Ban. He's already missed 50 weeks of rugby due to offenses including eye gouging and biting. Now i'm not a huge fan of the guy, but he's been a damned good player at times and looked like he was coming into some form which bode well for England in the World Cup. The article states that the chances are he will miss the warm ups at the very least.
What do you all think? Will he be given another chance, or is his time up?
Terrible record either way and i'll be interested in seeing what happens with this one.
Edit: Just noticed that @smartcooky has posted about this in the semi final thread. He also put it much better than i did, so i'll just post what he has stated below...
Hartley cited for a head-butt
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/201...mpton-saracens
Honestly, if Hartley cops a big ban and misses the RWC, then IMO that will increase England's chances of winning it. Hartley is a loose cannon with an appalling disciplinary record that almost descends to Danny Grewcock levels. Foe mine, he's a liability for any team he plays in, and the risk factor associated with having him play in a major match is not outweighed by his skills as a player.
For the record, has lack of discipline includes incidents of eye-gouging, biting and punching, as detailed here:
- April 2007 - Banned for 26 weeks for eye-gouging Wasps forwards James Haskell and Jonny O'Connor.
- March 2012 - Banned for eight weeks for biting Ireland forward Stephen Ferris in a Six Nations match.
- December 2012 - Banned for two weeks for punching Ulster hooker Rory Best in a Heineken Cup match.
- May 2013 - Sent off in the Aviva Premiership final and banned for 11 weeks after being found guilty of verbally abusing a match official (this one caused him to miss selection for the 2013 Lions tours).
- December 2014 - Sent off and banned for three weeks for striking Matt Smith with his elbow during the Aviva Premiership match between his Northampton Saints side and Leicester Tigers
Not listed is the raft of yellow cards he has received
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