Hartley’s headbutt is the last straw for Lancaster
DYLAN HARTLEY’S World Cup dream is over after the hooker was axed from Stuart Lancaster’s England squad and told he cannot be trusted to keep his cool in the high-stakes matches. The 29-year-old has a history of misdemeanours but his latest — a four-match ban for headbutting Saracens rival Jamie George — has proved to be one black mark too many for the selectors. With his cumulative suspension tally now standing at 54 weeks, the volatile Northampton skipper has been replaced by George in the 50-man training squad and ordered to clean up his act if he wants an England return. ‘There comes a point with a player when you think, actually, this message isn’t really getting through,’ said Lancaster. ‘He is going to suffer a huge price now. ‘Can he make the good decisions under pressure? You’ve got to trust that the players can do that. He’s shown that there’s an inconsistency there.’ Combined with his suspension from the 2013 Lions tour after verbally abusing referee Wayne Barnes, Hartley seems destined to end his career with a lifetime of regret for missing out on the sport’s biggest occasions. He previously claimed he would retire as a ‘bitter, twisted old man’ if he missed another major tour, but his response yesterday was confined to three sentences in an electronic press release: He apologised to his colleagues for his ‘unacceptable’ actions and expressed his ‘devastation’. Had Hartley not been dropped by Lancaster, his suspension would have ruled him out of England’s three warm-up matches and the pool opener against Fiji. Common sense had to prevail. Hartley will now return to Northampton for pre-season training and faces a long road if he is going to return to Lancaster’s long-term plans. With a rap sheet that includes eye-gouging, biting, punching and elbowing, the England coach’s tone suggested he does not expect Hartley to change but he has not ruled out a future return. Lancaster said: ‘Dylan has got two or three years at the highest level. It is down to him to prove he can control his emotions.’