Sean O’Brien got the mother of all clatters but it is Dylan Hartley that will have to keep the head down for the next while.
The England captain was sent off six minutes into his appearance off the Northampton bench at Franklin’s Gardens tonight for a frankly idiotic swinging arm hit on O’Brien.
The tackle left O’Brien concussed as neither he nor Hartley finished out the Champions Cup game, which went the way of Leinster.
Post-match, Saints boss Jim Mallinder had no defence for Hartley’s actions and told BT Sport that his players definitely did not practice high tackles in training [George Pisi was also yellow carded for a high hit on Isa Nacewa, late on].
Former England and Ireland captains Lawrence Dallaglio and Brian O’Driscoll were on commentary duty for the broadcaster and both gave their take on a particularly grim incident.
“It was reckless and got what it deserved,” Dallaglio declared.
“It was reckless and got what it deserved.” @dallaglio8 believes Dylan Hartley has checked out with @SaintsRugby. https://t.co/RzLCe0a248
— BT Sport Rugby (@btsportrugby) December 9, 2016
O’Driscoll was in agreement with that statement, from Dallaglio, and followed up with a more personal take after the broadcast.
Very solid performance from @leinsterrugby tonight with room for improvement. Mindless from Hartley. Lions Captain???!
— Brian O'Driscoll (@BrianODriscoll) December 9, 2016
O’Driscoll was not the only one linking Hartley’s latest rush of blood to the head to his iffy hopes of being Lions captain.
Diarmuid Connolly makes his long overdue GAA Hour debut and talks to Colm Parkinson about everything from the black card to his rivalry with Lee Keegan and how he honed the ability to kick accurately with either foot.
