Martin Johnson has expressed misgivings about the prospect of Dylan Hartley being named as England’s next captain by new head coach Eddie Jones.
When he was manager of the national team Johnson picked Hartley for his Test debut, but he has reservations about the man thought to be favourite to succeed Chris Robshaw in the leadership role for the RBS 6 Nations.
Hartley missed the recent World Cup after being left out of the squad, having been banned for head-butting Saracens rival Jamie George. It was the latest disciplinary episode to blight a career which has seen the 29-year-old win 66 Test caps and captain his country to a draw against South Africa in Port Elizabeth in 2012.
Another complicating factor is that Hartley was out of action for seven weeks with concussion. After making his comeback for Northampton he has been struggling to oust Mike Haywood from the starting XV and had to withdraw from the East Midlands derby last weekend with a minor injury.
‘Dylan’s not getting picked for his club team,’ said Johnson, in his role as an ambassador for Standard Life —named yesterday as the 2017 Lions’ title sponsors. ‘I know he had an injury at the weekend but he was selected on the bench before that.
‘What’s his (disciplinary) record? Would I have an issue? It doesn’t matter what I think, but there probably is an issue, isn’t there? I went to the sin-bin a few times, more than a few, but I don’t think I cost our team a game.’
Asked if Hartley had been a candidate for the England captaincy during his tenure as manager, Johnson added: ‘No, we didn’t consider it. There were more experienced contenders. If you’ve got 50 caps, where he is now, you should be. Playing hooker you have enough on your plate anyway with the responsibilities of the job. We didn’t want to over-burden him.’
Johnson also gave a debut to Robshaw in 2009 and the Harlequins flanker went on to serve as Stuart Lancaster’s leader throughout the highs and lows of the last regime.
Johnson believes Jones is making the right call by deciding that Robshaw is no longer a primary contender at openside, but his prospects of selection at blindside depend on what precisely is required from the player in that position. ‘In the back row, of all places, you need that balance,’ said Johnson. ‘People talk about Chris being a No 6. When I was in the job he was playing No 6 for Harlequins but we told him he wasn’t going to be able to play No 6 in international rugby because we wanted a line-out guy.
‘Chris is an all-round good player. Is he an out-and-out pure seven? No. We know that. Does Eddie want to pick one? Probably. His history shows he does pick one, but he’s had some great ones to pick. You need the player. We’ve had any number of No 7s come through over the years and they have not quite done it for whatever reason. We need those guys to come through.’
England will also be hoping that Manu Tuilagi comes through his return to action after 15 months out with a groin injury. He made his comeback for Leicester as a replacement last weekend and Johnson argued that he should be included in the revised elite squad which Jones will unveil at Twickenham tomorrow.
‘He’s still a big, strong unit, that’s not going to change very quickly,’ he said of the centre.
‘He can make a difference and you need those people. I think we need physicality in our back line a little bit as well. I’m sure he (Jones) will want the opportunity to pick him at some point.’ – Daily Mail