Marland Yarde has insisted that there is no “bad blood” after his mid-season move from Harlequins to Sale Sharks.
The England winger nevertheless admited that he “expected different” from ex-Captain Chris Robshaw, who openly critisised Yarde in the press last week.
Robshaw said that the 25-year-old had “run out of lives” and that his departure means Quins “will be in a better place for it”.
“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,”
Yarde, who has joined Sale on a three-year deal, admitted he is simply looking forward to the new challenge.
“I thought there was a chance to have a new challenge, a clean slate and a fresh start,
“I’ve got no bad blood towards Harlequins. John Kingston and I never left on any wrongful terms, it was just a decision that had to be made at the time,
“It was a culmination of a few things. Not everything has been said but it’s a stance that John had to make at the time.
“I’m a little disappointed with how it concluded because I think no player would like to leave on those terms, especially having played there for the last three or four years and being a part of that team through many highs and lows,” he added.
“I want to get on board as soon as possible – usually you’d have a whole pre-season to do it but it’s a challenge to myself.
“I am experienced enough and I have played enough games to know how to deal with stuff like that.”