It was the first time the towering lock, with tattoos emblazoned across his muscular forearm, had been cited for dangerous play and the decision had irked him.
England's Courtney Lawes has been struggling to keep a lid on his frustrations in training while waiting for his "harsh" suspension to pass and the lock is desperate to regain his starting place to face old rivals Scotland.
The talented second row was banned for two weeks for dropping a knee to the head of Argentine hooker Mario Ledesma in England's 13-9 opening rugby World Cup win and was forced to sit out the Pool B victories over Georgia and Romania.
It was the first time the towering lock, with tattoos emblazoned across his muscular forearm, had been cited for dangerous play and the decision had irked him.
"I thought it was a bit harsh, but what can you do? You just have to get on with it and take it on the chin and that's what I have done," Lawes told reporters at the team's hotel in central Auckland on Monday.
"It has never happened before. I didn't try and do anything malicious, I'm always physical but I don't aim to hurt people, that's just part of my game."
Despite the Englishman's feeling that the ban was unfair, he said he heeded the advice of management not to appeal for fear of a lengthened sentence and thus missing the pivotal final pool clash against Scotland.
Defeat for England at Eden Park on Saturday is likely to see them miss out on the knockout stages.
"There was no point in risking it. If I miss out on Scotland then I might struggle to get back into the team for the quarter-finals," Lawes said.
"I have only been cited once in the five years I have been playing, so it is pretty rare and I don't think it is going to happen again soon."
His two-week ban allowed Simon Shaw, Louis Deacon and Tom Palmer to showcase their talents in a bid to cement a place in the competitive second row position for England and Lawes was aware of the challenge to get back into the team.
"There was a very good game at the weekend [against Romania] and a lot of the boys played really well and I think in training this week I have to do whatever I can to try and get back into the team.
"The next couple of days will tell when I find out the team."
Though England ran up a 41-10 scoreline against Georgia, they conceded a number of unnecessary penalties. Things improved in a 67-3 thrashing of Romania, but discipline remains an issue.
Asked if Martin Johnson had told him to reign in his intensity during matches, Lawes said the England manager, a World Cup-winning captain, had instead asked for more of the same.
"I don't really give away too many penalties and don't do any stupid things. Just make big hits when I can and do my job as best I can really."
The two-week hiatus left Lawes restricted to the training field to vent his frustrations and the 22-year-old left no doubt that Scotland would feel the effects if he were selected for Saturday's game.
"Certainly," the London-born lock said with a laugh. "I've just been trying to train as hard as I can — and not injure any of the boys really."
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