Dylan Hartley gets a nibble on his arm from Pedrie Wanneburg

has this guy never played rugby before??

of course he's gonna bite you if you do that to him!!

Good lad. I love his honest response though: 'that is justice'!

ha ha telling teacher.....
he bit me!!!
what did you expect???
bitch...

There was a good article in The Rugby Paper about Wayne Rooney's swearing at a camera, and what would happen if a similar incident happened in rugby. The journalist who wrote it made a distinction between swearing during the game - just a natural response in a high tension atmosphere - and swearing directly at the camera - an act directly intended to provoke.

Here we have a perfect example of a swearing rugby player. The thought of there being any need for disciplinary action is so absurd that no one would even consider it! He is clearly reacting to the bite (which he deserved), whereas Rooney's actions were directed away from the match, and were pointed straight at a camera and thus straight at the viewing audience.

There will always be swearing in both games, but whereas one was excusable, the other was just reprehensible.

His reaction during the game wasn't the best, but at least he was gracious about it afterwards.

Dylan Hartly can give it out but can't take it, I think it's very unsporting of him, but professional rugby, winning at all costs, etc, etc.

Northampton players were shouting at the ref throughout the game, looking for penalties. Don't think they needed to as they totally out muscled Ulster.

Mike, I agree 100%.
He just deserved it during the match :-)

BTW, I found referee Poite's performance very good during the match. Did you?

I have to admit that i'm not fan of the player because of his behaviour on the pitch. Not surprised to see him act like a quinlan receiving a Pelous kick in the ass (cf hcup final 2008)

Fortunately, his after-match reaction proves that he keeps a bit of rugbyman soul

He was playing for the penalty like all good kiwi's! didn't get it but was fair in his response post match so whats the big deal?

And now is the good time to say "Come on USAP"!

It should definitly be a good match even though I expect the H cup winner to come from the other semi.
Toulouse or Leinster...too close to call for me!

To Ruairi, Pienaar was moaning to the ref all the time at the scrums. I was there! It's just one of those things now that both sides try to influence the ref.

Mind you it was a fantastic match. The setting, the weather, the hits, running rugby (sometimes) the whole day was brilliant. Can't wait for the semis.

I'd still love to see a cup with North and south, best teams, perhaps year after world cup to help us fill the void. Be good for world rugby, sometimes I think NH teams only do as much as they have to, having to face the likes of canterbury would change that!

@ SmellyNerfherder. Couldn't agree with you more there. The quite clear distinction between the two

Question : will Cueto play the RWC for England?
After seeing that :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QYJII6Fh9s&feature=player_embedded

I suppose the ban will be at least 70 weeks. Attoub's eye gouge deserved that length with just a picture, not this overwhelming clip.

View Video

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving bloke.

@nembeurreite

Once again, Attoub has a history of being a dirty player, Cueto has an impeccable record, Attoub had been warned earlier in the game for contact with the face, Cueto is, again, a very clean professional player. He's crap like, but the point still stands.

Now quit whining about it. You're as bad as the BOD speartackle moaners. Its done, deal with it.

@Ruairi
I think this has to do with Romain Poite. He is a very good referee on technical matters and has been chosen for the world cup for this reason (he rarely misses a penalty, uses his linesmen a lot etc), but he has a frail body frame and is not a strong authority figure. In fact he tends to call players by their first name ("Richie", "Rory"...), when he should really be calling them "captain", just to maintain a respectful distance.
Some referees have that authority, like Alain Rolland, who sometimes has poor judgement but at least gets respected. Anytime Poite referees (for instance the last England - NZ in Nov 2010), players all try to influence him, and tensions arise.

neumbeurrite, you are an idiot. This has been discussed before here - in the Attoub case there were OVER 30 photographs that showed his attack on Ferris's eyes. OVER 30.

ONLY ONE WAS RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC.

YOU ARE AN IDIOT.

Jiffylube - I agree 100%, but the difference is that the only people who mention the BOD spear these days are those who want to complain about him or the NH in general.

O'Driscoll, Umaga and the real NH fans moved on years ago.

http://tinyurl.com/3dm2hqv

RE. the Cueto case - which is not relevant here - I presume he will get about 10 weeks. He didn't stick his fingers into the eye all the way to the knuckle at the bottom of a ruck like that coward Attoub did.

@ SmellyNerfherder Great comment...

Re: the incident in the clip - Not a fan of Pedrie or Dylan Hartley and I have no time for biters - ban them for life. Having said that - what did Hartley expect getting him in a face-lock?
He did go up by a notch in my estimation for assuming guilt and leaving the incident on the field - kudos to him.

He should do stand-up comedy.
First of all thought he had it coming. Than read the comment he gave afterwards and had a good chuckle.

Actually, am I the only one who thinks that when somebody is being pulled out of a maul or ruck by the head, a penalty should/could be awarded?

Hartley is suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch a dick. Nobody likes you!

Couldn't have happened to a better guy. Hartley is simply a punk and a cheap-shot artist. Glad he ran off to England where he can get gametime. He would never see a black jersey if he stayed in NZ.

He would never see a black jersey if he stayed in NZ.

Without getting into the usual NH/SH nonsense, I think you are spot on there. Wasn't he done for eye-gouging a few years ago, before the recent crack-down? Got a long ban I think.

Hartley is a woman.

"Hartley is a woman"

Seriously? This scare the hell out of me if it is true......What will it be if he was a man.....

OK, first poor reaction from Hartley, but on the heat of the moment I would say. Clearly not one of my favorite player but his end of the game reaction, was far better. Still a young player is not it?

hartley is a good player, but does silly things that make him look like a dick. personally I like him and that people are harsh on him because of some of the things he does off the ball. At the person who said he would never never have been able to pull on a nz shirt, you will never know because he pulled on the rose of england.

I have no problem with people who play the game hard and physical. But that's not the type of player Hartley is -- he prefers to be hard and physical after the whistle is blown and away from the ball. My favorite Hartley moment has to be the cheap elbow he drops on McCaw's throat, when McCaw is at the bottom of the ruck. I think that sums up Hartley's game nicely.

God. Only Hartley would be crying foul after that. Are headlocks the proper way to maul now?? Did I miss that somewhere?

Hartley's record speaks for itself. Not to pile on the guy, but I've seen way too much dirty play out of him in the last few years.

I do totally agree that he is a prick however his after game comments sort of ranked him up in my eyes! To leave I on the field, I mean he talked to the ref about it as it happened and then after the whistle so chances he 'forgot' are pretty slim in my eyes, however to leave it on the pitch shows that maybe....just maybe... He is maturing...

The guy is a constantly-niggling dick. Sadly, it's a large part of his game, and I don't think he would be considered half the plater that he is without this ability to get under the skin of his opposite number (look at Rory Best in the last 10mins of the game).

Sadly, he also appears to be a cheap-shot merchant, and seems to want to brand himself as some kind of enforcer (as you will see by him 'throwing' the Ulster players out of the wrong side of the maul).
However, being an 'enforcer' always meant that you stood up and took your payback like a man - like standing toe-to-toe with the guy whose back you mercilessly raked for lying all over the ball, and slugging it our if needs be.
Whereas Hartley appears to prefer to seek the protection of the referee in these instances, despite it often being him who instigated the situation. It's all very wendyball-esque if I'm honest, and doesn't really have much of a place on the rugby pitch for me.

It's funny how all-too-often you see front-row/tight-five niggling against Northampton. It could be coincidence, but it strikes me that there's probably a little more to it than that.
I love the Saints, but Hartley isn't the kind of guy who really makes people want to like him.

By Hartley's same demented logic, Wanneberg should also get 12 weeks for spitting on his arm.

^^^ well evidently not, considering he said he cant remember and if he was bitten he deserved it...

An agressive front row forward that niggles surely not, next thing you'll be complaining about mouthy scrum halfs or flankers who skirt with the break down rules. imagine that!