Sean Cronin: Dylan Hartley dismissal may galvanise Northampton

Sean Cronin didn’t hesitate in labelling Dylan Hartley’s rush of blood to the head last Friday as “rash” and “stupid” but the Leinster hooker has warned that the incident and fallout from it could have a galvanising effect on a struggling Northampton side this weekend.

The English club pitches up at the Aviva Stadium for another Champions Cup engagement on Saturday where they will again face a Leinster side that, as was the case three years ago, embarrassed them on their home patch of Franklin’s Gardens.

Hartley’s forearm smash into the back of Sean O’Brien’s neck 64 minutes in has stolen most of the headlines since and intensified the spotlight on the East Midlands club which has been dogged by poor results and suggestions of internal strife this season.