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Showdown: Hartley vs George for England spot

By Harry West
England duo Jamie George and Dylan Hartley

Dylan Hartley is ready to earn his place in the England set-up as he prepares to go head-to-head with primary competitor Jamie George in the European Champions Cup on Sunday.

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Hartley’s Northampton Saints host George’s Saracens – the defending champions – at Franklin’s Gardens with England head coach Eddie Jones likely to be a keen observer as the November internationals loom large.

George started all three Tests for the British and Irish Lions against New Zealand earlier this year, and his form has led many to call on Jones to select him in place of current captain Hartley.

Sunday’s encounter will mark the second meeting of these two sides this season, after Saracens’ 55-24 demolition of the Saints at Twickenham on the opening weekend – a game George missed.

George, yet to start a Test for England, scored a hat-trick in Sarries’ win over Wasps last weekend before signing a new deal until 2021 on Thursday, and Hartley is taking nothing for granted when it comes to England selection, despite leading his country to 19 wins from 20 Tests since succeeding Chris Robshaw as captain.

 

“I’m an aspiring England player. I’m not an England player. If I play well for my club, as an aspiring England player, then good, I’ll give myself a good shot,” Hartley told reporters.

“Eddie has made it clear that he is not just picking players because of what they have done [before]. It needs to be earned.

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“[I’m an] aspiring England captain. If it is on anyone, it is on me to make an example. I need to be playing well. Try and score a hat-trick this weekend!

“We [Hartley and George] have got a good working relationship and again I look forward to the challenge. It is not about me and him. We are team-mates in another environment, so it works.”

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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