Rugby union: talking points from the Premiership’s weekend action

Dylan Hartley makes an impact, Brad Shields suffers injury blow and George Smith’s red card proves costly for BristolGeorge Smith’s red card against Saracens has split opinion. Bristol’s Pat Lam is among those to think a yellow card would have sufficed and many observers have suggested it was on the harsh side. What counted against Smith, however, is that it was the kind of tackle that has been identified by the Rugby Football Union in its research as the most likely to cause head injuries, leading to the “armpit tackle” trial in the Championship Cup. There can also be no denying it was the de…