British and Irish Lions lock Geoff Parling has expressed his sympathy towards Dylan Hartley after he was dropped from the side's tour of Australia.

The Northampton Saints captain was handed an 11-week ban for swearing at the referee during his side's defeat to Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership final on Saturday.

Despite his sorrow towards his England teammate, Parling has no doubts that replacement Rory Best can fill the void.

"I feel for Dylan and I think he is probably feeling a bit for himself at the moment," Parling told Sky Sports News.

"Obviously the management have called up Rory Best, who is a top, top player so it will be good to meet him and get training."

The Lions face the Barbarians in their tour opener in Hong Kong on Saturday.