Shane Williams: James Davies ban spot on but Dylan Hartley put so much at risk

There is simply no place in rugby for abusing match officials, but any talk of the Scarlets sacking James Davies for his actions in the game with Toulon last weekend was way over the top.
James will know he was out of line. Making that obscene gesture and directing foul language at Greg Garner and his match officials will be something he’ll regret. He’ll know he made a big mistake. Things can get emotional in the heat of battle and the most important thing for James is that he quickly apologised and realised his mistake. That was vital.
I was also pleased to see the Scarlets come out and condemn his actions while also emphasising their respect for the rules of the game. In my view that just goes to show how seriously rugby takes matters like these and the authorities in Llanelli should be applauded for how they’ve dealt with the situation.
I read in some places James could have had his contract terminated over the incident, but I couldn’t ever see that happening. I know James and he’s certainly not that type of player.
Yes, he’s a colourful character and one of the funniest people I’ve met, but I thought it was important he owned up to what he’d done. He did that. The right result was reached in the end with a three-week ban and anything more than that would have seen the punishment outweigh the crime.
Discipline has dominated the news agenda this week, but I thought the incident with James was very different to the one surrounding Dylan Hartley. James has had one hell of a year. He was a superstar at the Olympics with Team GB and has impressed me whenever I’ve seen him with the Scarlets. Wales are blessed with so many talented sevens in Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric, Ellis Jenkins and others but Davies’ all-action style means he’s pushing those guys hard.
He’ll be gutted to miss the return game with Toulon and the Christmas derbies due to his suspension. Wayne Pivac‘s side tried to throw the ball around in France last weekend and move the huge Toulon pack to all corners of the field. It worked at times, too, and James’ ability to get around the park and his experience at Sevens means he’s perfect for that game plan.
He’ll not only miss the rematch with Toulon, but also the derbies with the Ospreys and Cardiff Blues. Those games are the ones you want to be involved in as a player. Matches around Christmas time always have a special edge to them and playing against the other regions always sees those involved step things up a notch.
They’re the matches the Wales coaches watch with a view to naming their Six Nations squad and James will be kicking his heels while they’re going on. That’s a real shame from his point of view, but he’ll have some time to think about what he did now.
Hopefully, he’ll learn from it all and come back a better player. We all know how talented he is and maybe this might serve as a little reminder of the responsibilities he has as a professional. Rugby is a great game and what separates it from other sports is the spirit in which it is played.
Nothing can be allowed to tarnish that, so let’s hope we can move on and now start talking about the action on the field and not how many players are in the disciplinary dock.
As for Dylan, it was very, very reckless. A lot of people are more disappointed than angry with him because he’s been so disciplined with England and been an excellent captain for them in the last year.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought he had turned the corner, but there was no need to do what he did in catching Sean O’Brien. He’ll know he’s let himself and his team down.
He did it four years ago and missed the Lions and he may have done something similar again. I think, though, that a six-week ban is about right. I’ve seen calls for his ban to be longer given his chequered past but you’ve got to remember his discipline has been excellent recently and sadly there have been worse incidents in the game.
As for whether he can still captain the Lions, Dylan’s track record as England skipper is nothing short of excellent.
I’m sure he will still be considered by Warren Gatland – certainly as a player at the very least – but we all know the captain has to be the most disciplined player on the pitch. The question is can Dylan be that person?
He will certainly have to tread carefully now as he’ll know he hasn’t helped his cause moving into what is a massive year for rugby in 2017.