Marland Yarde fires back at Chris Robshaw over his criticism of wing's messy Harlequins exit

Former teammates have taken differing opinions over Yarde's exile from Quins and move to Sale

Marland Yarde (Getty)

Marland Yarde has issued a firm response to former Harlequins teammate Chris Robshaw following his strong words following his move to Sale Sharks, with the England wing admitting that he “expected different” from his ex-captain.

Robshaw skippered Yarde for both Quins and England following his move from London Irish in 2014, but the flanker was left disappointed by Yarde’s behaviour off the pitch this season, with his lapse in discipline costing him his career at the Twickenham Stoop.

After seeing the Harlequins director of rugby, John Kingston, tell Yarde to find a new club, Robshaw admitted that the 25-year-old had “run out of lives” and that his departure means “we’ll be in a better place for it”.

Yarde, who could make his debut for new club Sale this Friday against Saracens, has hit back at Robshaw, and explained that he thought the former England skipper would have something different to say rather than the criticism that was aimed his way.

“I’d have expected different from him,” Yarde told The Times. “No player enjoys that, especially from a team-mate I’ve shared a field with for the last four or five years.

“It’s happened. I’m not going to moan about it, it’s his views and he’s entitled to his opinions. But I don’t want to get into an argument about what’s right and what’s wrong, I’ve left Harlequins now, I’m at Sale. I’ve got an opportunity to start with a clean slate, get in the Sale team and get knocking on the England door again.”

Robshaw believes Harlequins will be 'in a better place' without Yarde (Getty)

Yarde remains in the England reckoning despite the saga, although head coach Eddie Jones admitted that he wants to check that his emotional state was in check before considering him for an international call-up.

He was exiled from the Harlequins squad by Kingston after missing the captain’s run three weeks ago ahead of the Champions Cup clash with Wasps, and it was revealed that the incident was the third time this season that Yarde has missed a training session without reason. Having seen his behaviour become a distraction to the rest of the team, Kingston took the decision to move Yarde on immediately, with Sale needing just a handful of days to complete the mid-season signing.