The car park calling-out incident that convinced James Haskell that Dylan Hartley must go to Japan
Dylan Hartley has not played any rugby this year but has to lead England to the Rugby World Cup with his ability to “call out” fellow teammates a crucial skill that will be needed in Japan.
Hartley, 33, who has won 97 caps, needed surgery on a troublesome knee and his absence allowed Saracens Jamie George to assume the England No2 role in the Six Nations with Owen Farrell taking over the captaincy. However, James Haskell, the England and Northampton flanker, is adamant that Hartley, who last played at the end of December, must go to the World Cup as a key element in Eddie Jones’s squad and has seen at first hand the leadership qualities that set the combative hooker apart.
Haskell, an HSBC ambassador, said: “Obviously I am biased because he is a teammate and a good friend but I believe he has to go to Japan because over the last year and a half he has been playing the best rugby of his career. I love Jamie George and he is an incredible player and the media has been all about “get rid of Dylan bring in Jamie” and when things haven’t got that well while Dylan has been out, it is then a case of get him back into the side.
“Dylan has added ball carrying to his other elements and what people didn’t see is that Eddie Jones had him on the most ridiculous individual fitness programme as England captain. Dylan had to work doubly hard and when I would wake up at the squad hotel, he would already be on his second wrestling session then into something else and he really set the example for everyone. He brings a level of mental maturity and hard nosed old school that gets the best out of people.
Continue reading below…
“He is willing to call players out and demands standards. We live in a World of Powerpoint presentations and business talk about open honesty and no one does it. To stand up at the front of an international squad and call someone out saying what they have been doing is not good enough is really impressive. It could be that Dylan had seen someone not doing extra training or skipping a recovery session and it is hard thing to do – to be the one calling a player out in front of all the other squad members.
“You need balls and modern players don’t like it and it is tough to call out teammates. Dylan works incredibly hard behind the scenes and being out injured for this long is not a major problem.
“When I was out with my toe injury, I actually felt better for not being involved in all of those matches and with the requirements Eddie put on him as captain, I think he will be in a fresher place. I know that Dylan is training his arse off and I would 100 per cent have him in there.”
Haskell discovered on his first day at Northampton about Hartley’s hard edge having moved from Wasps and the incident is still fresh in his memory.
“I parked where I thought was OK and because it was a hot day I put the car under this big tree. Dylan was talking to me like a best friend and right at the start of the team meeting he asks “right, who has parked that silver Range Rover under the tree? You know it’s not allowed so a crate of beer for the boys!”
“He looked at me and said he knew it was may car and that we didn’t do that as a team and it was unacceptable.”
“He could have given me a heads up when we were chatting but his attitude is that no one is bigger than the system. I got 18 Coronas for the boys and when Jamie Gibson was called out for the same thing he got a six-pack of Badger ale and was massively sharpened for that nonsense!”
Comments on RugbyPass
Dear Robbie, Please return to the Crusaders next season. Sincerely, Scott
1 Go to commentsDid the big E call the Irish the ‘White Can’ts’? That would’ve been good
28 Go to commentsDalton Papalii will be lucky to be selected on the Matchday 23. Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, and Peter Lauki are all as good or better openside flankers
9 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a lock and they have a much longer shelf life than a loose forward. Far more likely that Barrett will still demand a starting position based on performance at age 33 at RWC 2027 than Savea, whose explosive athleticism will have declined and he will in all likelihood have been surpassed by Hoskins Sotutu, Wallace Siti, Peter Lauki and Brayden Iose.
9 Go to commentsExtremely frustrating to get yet more speculation over whether or not Eben actually counted 12 players or not, but honestly big respect to McCloskey for keeping it classy and not pointing out Etzebeth’s hypocrisy. The Irish are a popular team outside of Ireland because they do their talking on the pitch, and its honestly a PR masterclass that they’re keeping it that way following Etzebeth’s provocation.
28 Go to commentsGood option for the lineout lost there.
1 Go to commentsIt’s not like Saffas have a long history of spouting absolute shite at any & every occasion. Oh wait… The dangers of an inferior third world education strike again.
28 Go to commentsI’m so glad we’re revisiting this. Really needs to be dissected further. I’m also so glad that a guy in the stands who wasn’t anywhere near the field when any of it would have been said (and even confirms this) has taken the lead and commented as Ireland. Definitely cleared it all up. This article would be hilarious if it wasn’t so misleading.
28 Go to commentsits such a shame he hasn’t achieved more success at club level. He’s really not been a potent finisher for a while now, but he’s still excellent in the kick chase. That’s the kind of skillset that generally only gets appreciated when you’re playing in premiership and european finals. I’m not sure whether the challenge cup counts given the quality of the competition seems lower than in previous years, but his duel with Mapimpi should be enthralling.
1 Go to commentsThe point is the irish players were arrogant,call it like you want sugar coat it aswell but they were you could see it in their way they handeled themselfs on the field when they got something right so dont tell me it was not arrogance it was,you can fool other people but not me,and to say to one of our players see you in the final put a nail in the coffin for this bullsh@t,just be grown men and accept it that you were arrogant,you could if seen it from a mile away, and then you lost to the allblacks what a cocky move that didnt work out for you ,Eben was right when he said u were arrogant,the point is you will deny it because you lost it all just grow some balls and move on we had won you lost accept it.
28 Go to comments“summer tour of North and South America” so its a summer tour of america?
1 Go to commentsEverybody is giving the Irish players the benefit of the doubt in ‘what they meant’, but none of these pundits or commentators offer the same courtesy to Eben. I don’t think Eben went, 1, 2, 3… etc. What might have happened is he didn’t count and when the 3rd or 5th guy said he went, hang on why are so many of them saying this… and then started to concentrate on it more and more as players continue to say it. So no, he didn’t count it, he realised many Irish players said it and made an assumption based on that… The Irish team was VERY confident at the time and I do believe they believed they were going to win the World Cup, which borders a bit on the arrogant side…
28 Go to commentsI can see how some of the Irish players would have said”see you in the final” as a gentle comment after a victory. It’s open to interpretation but it’s clumsy language. I don’t know the fella but I assure you Eben doesn’t have an axe to grind with Ireland. He has never been the media seeking pro. Oh and BTW it is I’ll be our winter in July so won’t be wet.
28 Go to comments*McCloskey*: _I saw this clip. Like, I wasn’t playing that game; I was in the stands…so you don't know sh!t in other words, infact you know just as much as Goode on this matter. I will believe the guy who was on the pitch when things were said as appose to two people speculating over what was said._
28 Go to comments@ turlough dream on buddy. Your boys are in for one tough time down in sa this summer…
28 Go to commentsI think Goode is looking to establish a platform for himself. Eben said “Probably” so that suggests he wasn’t counting. It’s an estimate Goode. I think even with your short and uneventful experience with the Sharks you probably realise winding up Saffas will get you some airtime. It’s a none event. Move on
28 Go to commentsRugby has never been as structured and synthetically pleasing as it is at this moment. The game is simply beautiful and messing with it too much will ruin it for everyone. I can't help but feel that over the past decade or so many rules have been changed to accommodate a certain hemisphere and counter another. Perhaps I am wrong but I somehow don’t think so.
2 Go to commentsNoted some excellent defensive steals from the Rebs last week against the Reds, largely J Canham, I think. It’s not a Rolls Royce but they are a real threat with their defensive line out at the beginning matches. What do you make of Canham Nick, WBs squad material?
86 Go to commentsCoin flip between Ardie and Scott Barrett. Both have their pros and cons, and both would probably be decent. Ardie has way more passion on the field, but that hasn’t always translated into the best decisions. They will both turn 34 at the next World Cup, so both will most likely have their best days a few years behind them. It’s hard to imagine now, but looking at young players coming through Ardie will probably be under the most pressure to retain his place in the team. Beauden Barrett also an outside chance if Razor sees him as the first choice 10.
9 Go to commentsQuality stuff from Flats. Rugby can’t replace football nor should we want it to. I think the ‘product’ (awful term sorry) now is absolutely fantastic. Growing the game shouldn’t be at the expense of losing its brutal beauty.
2 Go to comments