Monday 22 December 2014 19:11, UK
Northampton look set to appeal against Dylan Hartley's sending-off after the Saints captain saw red again for elbowing Leicester centre Matt Smith in the face during their 23-19 Aviva Premiership victory at Franklin's Gardens.
Hartley could miss at least the start of England's Six Nations campaign following the latest episode in a career scarred by repeated disciplinary episodes.
The incident happened after just 17 minutes of a titanic east Midlands derby the Saints won thanks to substitute Jamie Elliott's 77th-minute try that fly-half Stephen Myler converted from the touchline.
Referee JP Doyle initially seemed happy to award Hartley a yellow card, but television match official Sean Davey urged Doyle to watch further replays, and he responded by sending 61 times-capped Hartley off.
"It was disappointing," Northampton rugby director Jim Mallinder said. "Dylan has got to keep his arms down, but he was being held and I don't know there was any malice in it.
"The nature of the game didn't justify a red card. I think Smith went down pretty easily, to be honest, which was disappointing.
"It is a tough game. That 80 minutes of rugby was hard, physical, with some great tackles, but I don't think there was any malice in that. I think JP's initial reaction of the yellow card would have been the correct decision."
England open their Six Nations campaign against Wales in Cardiff on February 6, and given 28-year-old Hartley's poor record another lengthy suspension is a possibility.
"It's a tough game, and Dylan plays to the edge. You wouldn't change Dylan. He is competitive," Mallinder, who expects a disciplinary hearing to be convened before Christmas, added.
"It is a difficult one. I think he should have kept his arms down - we are not saying that what he did was right - but what I am probably saying is that the opposition made it a lot easier, and a yellow card was sufficient."
Asked for his reaction to the Hartley dismissal, Leicester boss Richard Cockerill said: "If you strike someone in the face you are liable to get yourself in trouble. That's the nature of it. You would have thought he might have learnt a lesson by now."
And reflecting on Tigers' performance, Cockerill added: "I am disappointed with how we managed the second half. We got what we deserved, probably. You have to control the field position and get the pack in the right areas, and we didn't do that at all.
"Defensively, we were poor. We were too narrow, and it will be interesting when we have a look on Monday morning that one side with one less back can create opportunities in the wide channels against us. That's not right."
