England vs Samoa: Dylan Hartley to return as captain for Six Nations as long as he doesn't get banned
Hartley will not start an England match for the first time under Eddie Jones, but will remain captain as long as he avoids any ill-discipline over the next two months
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Your support makes all the difference.Dylan Hartley will remain England captain for the Six Nations despite being dropped from the England side that will take on Samoa this Saturday – as long as he avoids any more ill-discipline.
Jones has decided that the time is right to hand Jamie George his first England start – despite becoming the British and Irish Lions’ first-choice hooker in the summer – which will end his world record streak of 19 consecutive Test appearances without a start. But that means dropping Hartley, and at 31 years old, it will come as a firm reminder that his place in the England side is not granted.
Hartley’s disciplinary record has somewhat tainted his career to-date, having served 60 weeks’ worth of suspensions since his professional debut in 2005, but while his last ban came just under a year ago, he has never fallen foul while playing for Jones.
Head coach Jones has kept Hartley sharp since taking the job by reminding him that his place – let alone the captaincy – is not a given, but the Australian has struck a different cord in recent weeks by heavily praising the Northampton Saints skipper, and Jones confirmed ahead of Saturday’s encounter with Samoa that Hartley will remain captain for next February’s Six Nations championship as long as he keeps the red mist at bay.
“He’s a great captain, Dylan,” said Jones. “But like anyone else he is under pressure to perform. Jamie has got an opportunity this week but Dylan is a fantastic captain and certainly at this stage, there is no reason why he won’t be captain for the Six Nations.
“There’s no decision on the World Cup. The only decision we’ve made is that, all things being equal, and he doesn’t have one of those mystical experiences at Franklin’s Gardens, that he’ll be captain for the Six Nations. As long as that mist doesn’t come in over Franklin’s Gardens.”
By making nine changes to his side and handing the captaincy to both Chris Robshaw and George Ford in a shared role, Jones has left Hartley out of his England starting XV for the first time under his reign, with the last time that the hooker failed to start an England game that he was available for coming back in November 2014, ironically also against Samoa.
On that occasion, Hartley would perhaps have been frustrated not to start the Test, especially in front of 82,000 at Twickenham, but the new culture that’s been bred by Jones to value not just the starting XV but the entire match-day squad and those unlucky enough to miss out on selection has rubbed off on Hartley, and he won’t be sitting among the replacements on Saturday stewing in his own frustration.
“I understand what we are doing. We are growing the squad, just like in Argentina, finding out more about ourselves,” Hartley said. “That’s what we are doing this week. This week’s a great opportunity to show how strong we are.
“20-odd games I’ve played under Eddie, I’ve sat there and said ‘boys, we’ve all got a role to play, whether you are going home on Tuesday, you are a starter or a finisher. You’ve all got a role to play.’ So it’d be unfair for me to say that the last two years and then not fulfil my role this week.”
Hartley’s omission means a chance, finally, to start for Saracens No 2 George. Despite winning back-to-back Champions Cups, three Premiership titles and starting all three Tests for the Lions against the All Blacks, George has had to play second-fiddle to Hartley despite calls for him to be promoted earlier than he has been. Having been brought on in 17 of Jones’ games in charge, the head coach now wants to see how George copes playing as a starter where there will be a much greater scrutiny on his scrummaging and lineout throwing, as opposed to his ability to run around the park when legs are tiring late-on.
“Completely different roles to starting at hooker,” said Jones. “You have to get the scrum right, you have to work out what the referee is doing. You haven’t had the chance to watch the game for 40 or 50 minutes. Same with the line-out, you have got to get it right early.
“I hope to get a lot of lessons otherwise it has been a waste of time. I feel that the squad is starting to develop that concept of adaptability that everyone has a different role to play at different stages and that is so important.”
Perhaps the worst best case scenario for Jones is that on Saturday, George has a stand-out performance, returns to his club and continues to excel with Saracens and reaches the Six Nations as the form hooker in the country, forcing Jones to choose between his prized captain and the heir to the throne. If that’s the biggest concern on England’s hands after this weekend, then there will be many other national teams looking at them with envious eyes.
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