Former England captain Dylan Hartley is set to join Eddie Jones ahead of Japan’s clash with England during the fast-approaching Autumn Internationals.
The 38-year-old Hartley, who holds the record for the most England caps by a hooker with 97, will be working with his former coach as Japan prepares for a highly anticipated showdown.
Join the RUCK’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
High-Performance Role at Rugby School
Since his retirement, Hartley has remained involved in rugby, taking up the role of High Performance Lead at Rugby School. In a recent social media post, Rugby School shared their excitement about Hartley’s involvement:
“We can’t wait for Dylan’s involvement in our pre-season rugby training this August. His expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we gear up for the season ahead.”
Hartley’s commitment to player development and leadership at the school has been highly praised, but his impending return to the international stage has grabbed even more attention.
Reunion with Eddie Jones
Hartley captained England under Eddie Jones during one of the nation’s most successful periods, from 2016 to 2019, which included back-to-back Six Nations titles and a Grand Slam in 2016. Now, the pair are set to reunite, this time with Hartley aiding Japan’s preparations against England.
Speaking to the Mail Online, Hartley expressed his enthusiasm about reuniting with Jones and the impact of his former coach on his career:
“Working with Eddie, achieving and wanting more and more… the brutal honesty he showed me means I now walk into any room without nerves. Once you’ve been through the tough stuff with Eddie and thrived, everything else is a breeze by comparison.”
Insight into England and Japan Camps
Hartley also revealed that he plans to attend both Japan and England camps during the Autumn Internationals. He will join Jones’ Japan setup for the week leading up to their clash with England and, interestingly, will also visit the England camp before their match against the All Blacks. Hartley will take two of Rugby School’s coaches with him to learn from England head coach Steve Borthwick’s team.
“It’s a privilege to be back in those environments, to see how hard the guys work and how diligently they prepare. If my two coaches can meet Steve and his coaches and pick up one thing that improves our programme, I’ll be doing my job.”
Meet the most banned England players in history, including former captain
A number of well-known England players feature prominently in Wales Online’s definitive list of rugby’s bad boys, which ranks players who received the longest accumulative bans.
#5. Joe Marler – 25 weeks
In 2016, he received a two-week ban following the “gypsy boy” saga, involving Wales’ Samson Lee, which erupted out of the Six Nations game at Twickenham.
The same penalty was to follow a couple of months later after he was cited for kicking Grenoble hooker Arnaud Héguy while playing for Harlequins in the European Challenge Cup semi-final.
Marler was then banned for three weeks in October 2017 after striking Wasps and now Wales lock Will Rowlands with an elbow and for six weeks later that same season for a shoulder charge on Sale’s TJ Ioane.
He was then suspended for ten week’s for grabbing the genitals of Wales skipper Alun Wyn Jones in the Six Nations encounter at Twickenham.
And, of course, earlier this season he received a two week ban after the prop made comments towards Bristol flanker Jake Heenan during the sides’ Premiership match.
Marler’s comments, made during a scrum at in the first half at The Stoop, reportedly related to Heenan’s mother, and caused a big melee between the players, after which a penalty was given against the Bristol flanker.
