Dylan Hartley banishes fears he's undercooked for the Six Nations as England captain welcomes the next challenge
Hartley returns from a six-week ban to lead England in their Six Nations Grand Slam defence, but he's used the enforced time off to ensure he's raring to go on Saturday evening
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Your support makes all the difference.If any England fan feared their captain was coming into the Six Nations undercooked, they need not worry. That’s the message coming from the horse’s mouth, as Dylan Hartley revealed that the rigorous training programme he has maintained during his six-week ban ensures he is ready to go when England face France on Saturday.
Hartley leads his country for a second Six Nations campaign looking to repeat last season’s Grand Slam success. Hartley, Eddie Jones and just about everyone else linked to the England camp have been keen to play down any expectation of the same triumph this year, but the matter of fact is that anything else will be deemed a failure.
If the players actually realise that, they’re doing well to hide it so far, and Hartley was keen to stress on Thursday that exact point – that they will take matters one match at a time. But Hartley was in danger of not making that first match, given he was suspended until last week for a swinging arm on Leinster flanker Sean O’Brien in December in a European Champions Cup clash for Northampton.
Jones faced questions, again, over Hartley’s disciplinary record and if he deserves to captain his country, but the head coach stuck by his man and gave him every chance to prove his fitness. He did just that last week, and attended the Six Nations launch to reiterate his role as captain, while Thursday’s team announcement confirmed he will lead England into battle against France on Saturday evening.
“I haven't been doing that [fitness test] for the last two weeks, I've been doing it for six weeks on a one-on-one basis,” Hartley said. “It's been brutal but it puts me in a good place. Knowing how hard we prepare gives the team confidence. There's no rust.”
Hartley’s commitment has never been doubted, and the latest proof of that came in taking his family down from Northampton to Pennyhill Park, England’s multi-million-pound home away from homes, although being the England captain doesn’t get you preferential treatment outside of the Test rugby season.
“I had been driving down here a day a week - come the night before to be up early and train,” he explained. “This place isn't cheap either and you have to pay for it yourself. I brought the missus and little one as well - she thought she was away for a spa visit! I got the cheapest room, which still isn't cheap!”
For a rugby player who plays so often on the legal line of physicality, it’s refreshing to hear him talk of his family. The subject crops up again when he’s asked about the accolades, the trophies and the medals he’s collected over the years and where he keeps them.
People coming to my house know I play rugby, I don’t need to show them I play rugby. It’s just the way I fee
“I don’t know. I’ve been in my house a year and a half and we still don’t have curtains in the lounge. When you move, everything just sits in the loft,” he says, before going on to reveal that like most fathers, he is at the mercy of his daughter.
“I’ve got nothing in my house, minimal, apart from baby stuff. I’ve got one sofa, a tepee, three ride-on giraffes, a little pink car, a book corner dominated by farm books, a 32-inch TV that’s got channel 623 BabyTV constantly on it.”
So why no trophies on display, especially last year’s one from the Six Nations?
“I don’t want to be defined. People coming to my house know I play rugby, I don’t need to show them I play rugby. It’s just the way I feel.
“It’s in a box, within a box. I think everything will, one day, mean a lot more, but while I’m here I’m kind of always looking at the next job, next challenge. It’s constant because when this one is done there’s another one. As a team what we did in the autumn, what we did in the Six Nations last year, is not going to be good enough to win this game this weekend. We’re striving to be better, we’re striving to look at new ways to get better. I say this every week but it’s the truth, we never look back.”
For the first time in a long, long while, looking back doesn’t look so bad for England. Looking forward, they will have their captain leading from the front, and his next challenge is playing France and Wales in consecutive weeks. Negotiate that successfully and England will be up and running in their quest to secure back-to-back Grand Slams for the first time in 25 years.
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