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Is England's Dylan Hartley 'deserving of his place?' - Moody

By Peter Hanson
Land Rover ambassador Lewis Moody

Lewis Moody believes Dylan Hartley is in a similar situation to the scrutiny Martin Johnson faced before leading England to Rugby World Cup glory in 2003.

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Northampton Saints hooker Hartley has been retained as captain for the Six Nations, despite having seen his club form heavily criticised this season.

The emergence of Jamie George, who earned a spot in the British and Irish Lions’ squad ahead of his England team-mate, has also cranked up the pressure on Hartley.

But Moody is backing Hartley to deliver, and pointed to the example of Johnson, who was under pressure from the likes of Danny Grewcock and Steve Borthwick for a starting berth before captaining his country to a first World Cup triumph.

When asked by Omnisport if England coach Eddie Jones is right to retain Hartley as captain, Moody, a Land Rover Ambassador, said: “It’s a tough question.

“It reminds me a little bit of Martin Johnson in that 2002 era when he was in his early-to-mid 30s and the questions were coming around his form and if he deserved his place with guys like Ben Kay, Danny Grewcock and Steve Borthwick all pushing hard for places. 

“But, ultimately, guys like Johnson go out and prove themselves on the pitch. Martin was a world-class player and leader, so for Dylan, he has similar questions being asked to him, is he deserving of his place? Only he can answer that. 

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“He’ll be well aware of the pressures he’ll have with the likes of Jamie George, who snuck ahead of him for the Lions. Not only Jamie but the guys further down the camp, you think of Tom Dunn, and there’s that pressure coming through. 

“But that just adds to the quality England can produce because that competition for places drives individuals to perform and negates that complacency that creeps in if people don’t have pressure on them.”

Moody is impressed by the wealth of leadership options in England’s ranks and earmarked Saracens powerhouse Maro Itoje as capable of being a future captain.

But the former Leicester Tigers and Bath flanker believes the loyalty shown by Jones is one of the reasons England have impressively lost just once under his stewardship. 

The World Cup winner added: “It’ll be interesting to see how Dylan goes, because with 2019 around the corner, if it’s not going to be Dylan leading them then who will it be?

“One thing Eddie Jones will be excited about is he’s got guys like Owen Farrell and George Ford who have captained their club sides, Chris Robshaw has captained England before, but [he’s] also got a guy like Maro Itoje who’s growing and growing in form, consistency and experience.

“If I was Eddie going forward and he decided that Dylan wasn’t going to be captain or wasn’t in form then I’d probably be looking at Maro Itoje. 

“But Hartley is such a figure head for that England side at the moment, it would come down to his form and if he goes out in the first few games [of the Six Nations] and doesn’t deliver then Eddie has proven in the past that no one is bigger than the game or team and I’m sure he’ll be thinking about his replacements.

“But also that loyalty Eddie shows to the team is another reason they’re doing so well and a reason Dylan is able to keep playing and be the leader he is because he has the confidence of the coach, that trust of the coach is important.”

Lewis Moody is a Land Rover ambassador. Land Rover has a heritage in rugby at all levels; from grassroots to elite, supporting the game for two decades. @LandRoverRugby #WeDealInReal

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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