Northampton hooker Hartley escapes punishment over 'bite' claim

Northampton and England hooker Dylan Hartley will not face disciplinary action over a claim that he bit Leicester counterpart Tom Youngs, the Rugby Football Union announced on Sunday. Youngs claimed to have been bitten by an opponent during Leicester's 22-16 win over Northampton in the English Premiership on Saturday and appeared to suggest that it was Hartley. However, citing officer Wade Dooley subsequently reviewed footage of the alleged incident, which occurred during a 15th-minute scrum, and decided that there was no cause for action to be taken. "The incident has been reviewed and no action will be taken against Dylan Hartley," an RFU spokesperson said. Match referee Wayne Barnes referred the incident to television match official Trevor Fisher, but ultimately elected to take no action. Speaking after the game, Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill confirmed that Youngs claimed to have been bitten, but stopped short of identifying his alleged assailant. "Tom said that he was bitten on the hand by someone he didn't elaborate on," Cockerill said. "The referee referred it to the TMO (television match official), and looked at it and there was clearly nothing to look at. Maybe Tom was mistaken. It will be looked at by the relevant people." Source: AFP