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2013 British and Irish Lions

Minimum ban for abusing an official from RFU is 6 weeks. So if they don't bottle it Best's in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22668122

EDIT: Rob Kearney has now pulled out of the final. This is a worry as I hadn't heard anything before hope he's still in.

EDIT EDIT: Apparently Kearney just has a tight hamstring and they didn't want to risk it.
 
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Gatland has said Hartley needs to be available for the 2nd game or will be replaced - 2nd game is in 11days (I think?) so Hartley's gone, basically.
 
Didn't watch the last 10 mins of the game really, did Tom Youngs end up having to go off because of injury?
 
Yes and no - he was subbed off, and at points was getting treatment on a neck problem, but he wasn't forced off with the injury.
Subbing could've been precautionary, but equally could've just been because he'd played 70mins and they wanted fresh legs.
 
Best will have a bitter sweet day, I wonder if he even knows about it yet. Really glad Hartly likely isn't going hes just such an ass.
 
lynam1104 said:
Best will have a bitter sweet day, I wonder if he even knows about it yet. Really glad Hartly likely isn't going hes just such an ass.
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Phil Steel and Paul Wallace tried to ask Best about it in a post match interview, but I'm not sure he quite understood what was being asked, either that or he didn't want to comment on live TV.
 
They, like all of us are just speculating. I think he might be in for it unless he can convince the commission he wasn't talking to the ref. He could try claiming he was hit so hard his eyes were crossed maybe? Personally I think Hartley did look at the ref, but when he said "****ing cheat" I think he was attempting to politely point the referee towards the action of his opposition, not accusing the gentleman of horseplay himself.
Not going to lie. I would love to see Best go ahead of Hartley (if that's whats on the cards). That's always been the case, I think Best should be there, but I would feel bad for the guy, having to lose his spot on the tour for one (of many) moment of stupidity at the end of a final, which he had clearly just lost.
 
big ginger 8 said:
Guardian claiming Hartley's tour is over because of Barnes' accent.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/may/25/dylan-hartley-red-card-premiership-final
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I have no idea what they were listening to, but what Barnes said about kicking the ball directly into touch couldn't be misinterpreted. He must have said it 10 times, and put a big emphasis on 'CAN NOT'. Claiming that a very slight accent was to blame is amazing tbh. I'm not denying that Myler possibly didn't hear him, but he's got to be listening to the ref, and one of the N'hampton players must have heard him and should have got the message across to Myler.

Regarding the red-card incident. He claims he was talking to Youngs, but in what way had Youngs cheated? There didn't appear to be anything in the scrum, other than Leicester being too powerful, so I'm at odds to understand what Hartley could have been referring to, other than making a comment to the ref about the incidents that led up to the penalty.
 
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Bye bye Hartley. I don't wish any bad luck on a player as I don't like too see him miss tour regardless of personality but for good of rugby I hope he gets banned as we have great tradition of respect for refs and that has to be maintained. And Hartleys temperment has to be questioned over risking everything in the hope of changing a refs mind (which isn't ever successful)
 
I'm in the camp that is confused as to why Hartley would call the ref a cheat... his explanation sounds perfectly plausible given the evidence.
However that would mean that he was still being way too chatty with Barnes after being warned, so it's a yellow in that case IMO.
I also find the attacks against his off-field character a little strange as by all accounts he's a very nice guy, he just has no control when playing...

Much of a muchness as far as the Lions are concerned as far as I can see though, I think we're probably going to see a Hibbard/Youngs combo for the tests barring one of them drastically losing form, or Best having a stormer in the other matches. And that's all Hartley would have done as well.
 
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Calling someone a cheat isn't really trying to change their mind...

Hartley's a window licker; can't say I wish him any good now, he simply lurches from disaster to disaster without offering too much on an international rugby field.

edit: That's regardless of whether he did it or not, I shall wait to see before condemning him on that score. He's an oxygen thief regardless.
 
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Peat said:
That's regardless of whether he did it or not, I shall wait to see before condemning him on that score.
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Surely Barnes was the one in the best position to decide whether what Hartley said was aimed at him or not. He obviously believed it was, so I'm not sure what other evidence could surface to change that.
 

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