Headbutt sees Saints skipper Hartley banned for four weeks
Saints skipper Dylan Hartley has been suspended for four weeks for headbutting Saracens hooker Jamie George in Saturday’s Aviva Premiership play-off semi-final at Franklin’s Gardens.
Hartley was not punished for the incident, which came after Tom Wood’s 57th-minute try, during the game, but was later cited and forced to attend an RFU disciplinary hearing at Coventry’s Holiday Inn on Wednesday night.
And it was decided that the England star, who was banned for three weeks earlier in the season after being red-carded for elbowing Leicester’s Matt Smith, merited a spell on the sidelines.
It is bad news for the Saints captain, who has been named in England’s 50-man training squad for the Rugby World Cup, which begins on September 18.