Thursday 18 January 2018 18:34, UK
James Haskell has argued his “exemplary” disciplinary record should have been taken into greater consideration after he was handed a four-week ban for a dangerous tackle on Jamie Roberts.
The flanker will miss England's first two Six Nations matches, against Italy and Wales, after he was penalised for a high challenge on Harlequins' Roberts during Wasps' European Champions Cup defeat last Saturday.
An independent disciplinary committee upheld the red card awarded to the Wasps forward and initially a six-week suspension was considered correct for the severity of the challenge before being reduced by two weeks.
Haskell, with 75 international caps, acknowledged the "right verdict" was reached and described his two previous infringements, including five-week bans for head-butting in 2008 and punching in 2012, as "completely innocuous stuff".
"Obviously it's really disappointing, it was a complete accident, there was no intent in it," Haskell told Press Association Sport.
"I've had an exemplary record since 2012 but they couldn't give me full discount because I didn't have a completely clean record.
"They want to make rugby safe and I agree if you make contact with the head it's a dangerous play.
"The right verdict came out. I just wish I had the dispensation for essentially playing 16 years of professional rugby and having two things on my record, both for completely innocuous stuff."
England, whose squad for the Six Nations opener includes eight uncapped players, will be without Haskell, who had just started regaining favour under Eddie Jones after missing out on selection for Jones' squad for the autumn internationals.
"I had a chat with Eddie and explained the situation," said Haskell.
"He told me to make the most of the four weeks out and treat it like a mini pre-season. It's put me out of the frame for England and I have to deal with the consequences."
Away from international commitments, Haskell's own club future remains uncertain. Wasps are yet to offer him an extension to his deal, which expires at the end of the campaign and the 32-year-old refused to rule out leaving the Ricoh Arena.
"You always want to stay with your club. I've been at Wasps a long time," Haskell, who is in his second spell with Wasps, said.
"But they've got to make a decision whether they want me. That's the difference. They've signed some good players and are looking to sign other players so we'll see.
"Of course I've got to consider my options - it's business isn't it? You're always talking to people. I'm not retiring any time soon and I want to play for England."
