Guess who’s back… ?
This guy.
Dylan Hartley has proved his fitness to England coach Eddie Jones and will lead his country in defence of their Six Nations Grand Slam. England coach Eddie Jones used the term ‘foundation captain’ and suggested the role is not locked down.
“Captaincy, like the jersey, is not a permanent position. Nothing is permanent… We’re not a club team.”
Jones suggested that Hartley will be afforded every opportunity to retain his captaincy role if he trains well and leads the squad well in the lead-up to their tournament opener against France.
Alex Lozowiski, Nathan Catt and Mike Williams are the uncapped inclusions in a 34-man squad that is likely to be led by Hartley. The hooker is serving out the remaining week of a six-week ban he copped for a straight-arm tackle on Leinster’s Sean O’Brien [above].
BREAKING | Your England squad for the 2017 RBS 6 Nations…
Full story: https://t.co/CMoSA7L53p#CarryThemHome 🌹 pic.twitter.com/STvxRq3tgt
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) January 20, 2017
Jones was unwilling to confirm whether Hartley would or would not captain England against France but said he was ‘moving in the right direction’ in terms of his game readiness, which he rated at 7/10.
Broadcast reporters tried their best to extract an answer but Jones was not budging. Wait and see was his take but, for now, there is no guaranteed England captain.
For what it's worth the press release does not have "(C)" next to Hartley's name or the word "captain". What you read into that is up to you
— Andrew McKenna (@talkMacca) January 20, 2017
Jones admits away from Hartley there are "Not many" Captaincy options and that's one thing, going forward, @EnglandRugby needs to improve
— Carrie Brown 💙 (@CarrieBrownTV) January 20, 2017
Some loved how Jones is laying down the law
Brilliant how straight talking Eddie Jones is and talks about how players need to perform and earn the jersey #WearTheRose #EnglandRugby
— David Gibbs (@DGibbo88) January 20, 2017
Fortunately Eddie Jones is a strong enough character to do what he knows is best and he's not done too bad so far.
— . (@Beesh24240265) January 20, 2017
Others just aren’t ready to forgive and forget
Presumably Dylan Hartley's keys to success involve violence and cheating? pic.twitter.com/gTHIJf3QDQ
— Deri (@thatderi) January 20, 2017
The likelihood is that Hartley will captain England but Jones was trying his best to deflect this story for now and focus on his squad announcement and tournament preparations.
