Time to make Dylan Hartley England captain, Eddie

Dylan Hartley would make a superb England captain according to Northampton first team coach Alan Dickens, who has dismissed fears the player’s poor disciplinary record might preclude him from the reckoning.
Hartley, widely acknowledged as the nation’s leading hooker, missed both the 2013 Lions tour of Australia and this year’s World Cup in England due to suspensions picked up in the lead-up to those career-defining events.
With the slate now wiped clean under Eddie Jones, however, the experienced Hartley is certain to be one of the names under consideration if the new Red Rose boss chooses to ditch incumbent skipper Chris Robshaw.
Dickens told The Rugby Paper: “Dylan Hartley did a great job over the last six seasons for Northampton and I can’t speak highly enough of him.
“I know that over the years he’s had some bad Press, but if you spoke to any of the Northampton players they’d give him their full backing as captain. He’s been excellent behind the scenes, which people on the outside don’t tend to see.
“They see the competitor who sometimes tips over the edge, but Dylan’s only been yellow-carded once for England in over 60-odd Tests so when people question his temperament at international level that’s a pretty good statistic.
“There’s only one man who can decide who the England captain should be and that’s Eddie Jones, but Dylan must be right up there.”
Dickens also says Saints scrum-half Lee Dickson can force his way back into the England picture despite missing the World Cup.
All-action Dickson, 30, was cruelly omitted from England’s 31-man squad in favour of Ben Youngs, Richard Wigglesworth and Danny Care and now faces additional competition from in-form Wasps pivot Joe Simpson.
But Dickens, a former No.9 with Sale, Leeds, Saracens and Saints, said: “Lee was very disappointed to miss the World Cup but his greatest strengths are his character, sheer competitiveness and doggedness.
“We’re fortunate in the scrum-half position in England that we have a lot of good players – and Lee Dickson is one of them.
“I’m absolutely positive he’ll do everything to kick on with England and all the scrum-halves have got a clean slate with Eddie, so you can bet your bottom dollar that over the next couple of months Lee will put his hand up.”
Dickson and Hartley are hoping to press their claims when Saints meet galactico-laden French outfit Racing 92 – All Black fly-half Dan Carter and all – in crucial back-to-back Champions Cup clashes over the next two weekends.
Dickens is excited by the prospect, adding: “Dan Carter’s probably a once-in-a-generation player but I’m sure our 10s will see it as a great challenge to play against him.
“Stephen Myler and JJ Hanrahan are both good players so I expect them to raise their game and prove their class against a side we faced last season.
“We were disappointed to come away from their place with nothing last year and then lost to them at home as well.
“But, hopefully, we’ve learnt from that.”
NEALE HARVEY