Dylan Hartley will be unavailable for England’s opening Rugby World Cup game against Fiji.
Reuters/London
Hooker Dylan Hartley will be unavailable for England’s opening Rugby World Cup game against Fiji after being handed a four-week ban on Wednesday for head-butting an opponent.
The Northampton forward, never a stranger to controversy, was given his sixth ban by a Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing after he pleaded guilty to striking Saracens’ Jamie George in Saturday’s Premiership semi-final.
Hartley’s suspension runs from Aug. 15-Sept. 21, meaning that, should he be selected in England’s World Cup squad, he will miss the warm-up games and sit out the tournament’s opening showpiece at Twickenham on Sept. 18.
It puts a serious question mark over the participation of the 66-times capped forward who has spent 50 weeks on the sidelines through suspensions and has admitted that he is in the “last-chance” saloon.
England coach Stuart Lancaster has warned the 29-year-old about his on-field behaviour, which has brought him bans for offences ranging from gouging and biting to abusing a referee.
Hartley received the minimum suspension because, according to disciplinary hearing chairman Sean Enright, it was judged that “this offence falls within the low entry point for striking with the head” and there was no significant injury to George.
“However, there cannot be any place in our game for this class of behaviour, and that is why we have imposed this sanction,” Enright added.
England face France at Twickenham on Aug. 15, a week before a repeat fixture at the Stade de France. Their final warm-up is against Ireland at Twickenham on Sept. 5 and Hartley will miss all three games.
Wallaby Cooper returns after two months out injured
SYDNEY: Australia flyhalf Quade Cooper will make his long-awaited return from injury this weekend after being named in the Queensland Reds team for Saturday’s Super Rugby clash against Western Force in Perth.
Cooper, who is pondering a lucrative offer from French club Toulon for next season, has played just two matches for the Reds this year after fracturing his collar bone in pre-season and a shoulder blade in early April.
“Quade was given the all clear 10 days ago but we wanted to keep working on his strength and bulk just to ensure we didn’t compromise his return,” said Reds coach Richard Graham.
“He has been training with the squad now for about three weeks and will have no problems returning to play at this level.”
The 27-year-old has just three more Super Rugby matches to prove his form and fitness to Wallabies coach Michael Cheika ahead of the Rugby Championship and World Cup in England later this year.
Cooper missed most of last year’s international season because of injury and slipped behind Bernard Foley in the pecking order for the number 10 shirt.