England Rugby

Dylan Hartley is an excellent hooker. I’ve highlighted how important he is to Northampton Saints and England before, but after being sent off again, this time for elbowing Leicester Tigers center Matt Smith, the England coaching staff have a big decision to make. Can they trust Hartley in key matches when the opposition will try to wind him up? Regardless of their decision, this is one indiscretion too many.

Hartley’s red card does need to be seen within the context of a fiery midlands derby with a history of serious foul play, but it cannot be justified. To recap, last May, Hartley’s Northampton teammate Salesi Ma’afu saw red for throwing a punch at Hartley’s England rival Tom Youngs in the Aviva Premiership semi-final. And a year-and-a-half ago, also against Leicester, Hartley himself was sent off just before half-time for swearing at referee Wayne Barnes.

While playing for England in November, Hartley was sin-binned against South Africa in the Autumn Internationals for stamping on the stray leg of Duane Vermeulen at the ruck, just when England were starting to gain the upper hand.

And now, after further protestations and promises that such indiscretions were a thing of the past, Hartley is sent off in a local derby. After signing a new deal at Northampton on Wednesday, Hartley commented on his desire to repay the team, via Sky Sports:

"Saints have shown incredible loyalty towards me, particularly during my well-documented disciplinary issues, and it’s great that I can take this opportunity to try to repay their faith in me."

Simply put, England head coach Stuart Lancaster can no longer take a risk on Dylan Hartley. England’s opponents will try and wind up the volatile front-rower, and there is little to suggest Hartley will be able to keep his cool in the future. Six Nations tournaments, maybe even World Cup campaigns, could unravel in a moment of Hartley hot-headedness.

Neither Rob Webber nor Youngs, England’s next best hookers, offer the line-out consistency and front-row menace that Hartley does, but they are less combustible. However, Youngs did see yellow in the Northampton-Leicester semi-final last year for the incident with Ma’afu. In terms of ruby, they are also more mobile in the loose.

Hartley’s experience, although he often demonstrates a lack of maturity, would also be missed by England.  With his 61 caps, Hartley stands out as a leader in a young, green team.

Dylan Hartley, the 61-cap hooker, has given England and coach Stuart Lancaster a boost by deciding to sign a new deal at Northampton Saints rather than cross the channel in a big-money move to Montpellier.

As reported by Mike Cleary for The Telegraph in late November, Northampton captain Hartley had been weighing up a lucrative move to Montpellier, which would begin after England host the 2015 Rugby World Cup next autumn.

Fellow England forward Courtney Lawes and five other players also penned contracts at Northampton.

According to Sky Sports, Hartley’s decision was based purely on repaying the loyalty he has received at Franklins Gardens:

It’s no secret I was offered a deal to join one of the leading French sides, Montpellier, which would have been worth significantly more. But money isn’t everything.

I don’t want to come across all ‘holier than thou’ over this, but I do believe the world loyalty has gone out of fashion a bit, and for me that really means something.

I have a great admiration for the one-club men, across a variety of sports, and if I can finish my career with Saints as my only professional club I’ll be a very proud man.

Hartley also made reference to the way the club stood by him following numerous acts of indiscipline, most notably being sent off just before half-time in the 2013 Premiership final against Leicester for swearing at referee Wayne Barnes. Despite heroic resistance, Northampton lost the final in Hartley’s one moment of rage.

Saints have shown incredible loyalty towards me, particularly during my well-documented disciplinary issues, and it’s great that I can take this opportunity to try to repay their faith in me.

On England, Hartley commented: “I’m obviously aware that staying at Saints means I will continue to be eligible for England in the run-up to the 2019 World Cup, not just next year’s competition.”

Hartley’s decision to remain in the England fold is a major boost for Stuart Lancaster and the RFU on two fronts. Firstly, Hartley has been one of England’s most consistent performers, and the set piece was England’s leading light throughout a difficult autumn. As the hooker and line-out thrower, Hartley was integral to that effort.

Secondly, it represents a coup for the RFU that an experienced player nearing 30 opted to keep representing England rather than seek a handsome retirement package in France. A move to Montpellier would have made Hartley ineligible to play for England unless the RFU took the unlikely decision to invoke the fabled “exceptional circumstance” clause.

With the Six Nations looming, Hartley will now look to fight off competition from fit-again Tom Youngs and Rob Webber as England’s first-choice No. 2.

England and Australia will bring a close to their autumn international schedule on Saturday, the two sides each looking to go out on a high note at Twickenham.

Both teams have suffered two defeats this autumn, with England dropping to South Africa and New Zealand while the Walllabies lost to France and Ireland.

However, a confidence-boosting result over Samoa last Saturday has put a spring in the step of Stuart Lancaster's men, who will be hoping to build on that victory with a spark against their visitors from Down Under.

Date: Saturday, Nov. 29

Time: 2:30 p.m. GMT/9:30 a.m. ET

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), SuperSport stream (SA)

TV Info: Sky Sports 2 (UK), SuperSport 6 (SA)

Pool of Death Trial

This Saturday's fixture will act as a warm-up for the Pool A encounter between these two teams at next year's Rugby World Cup.

With Wales, Fiji and Uruguay making up the group, many have termed it the "Pool of Death," Urugiuay being the only team who look incapable of beating any of the other four.

In the build-up to Saturday's Test, Wallabies utility Adam Ashley-Cooper sized the game up, per ESPN Scrum, saying:

It's a tough pool and you can certainly treat Saturday's match as a warm-up game for that World Cup match. The reality is that's seven or eight months away, but we do have England at Twickenham in the World Cup so this gives us a really good understanding of what it's going to be like. I think everyone is really excited by that.

Many in Michael Cheika's squad are still finding out what it's like to feature in European stadiums such as this, and England will claim any advantage they can in the hunt to show signs of progress.

Each of Australia's autumn defeats has come by frustrating three-point margins, and it's a slow start in particular—such as the one that undid them in Dublin last week—that the tourists will look to avoid.

Wallabies Fighting Rank Slide

A realisation of a disappointing international season came to light this week as the Wallabies learned that for the first time in their history, they had dropped to fifth in the IRB rankings, per SA Rugby:

It will be up to Cheika and captain Michael Hooper to ensure aggression is their reaction to the news, with Australia almost taking on a guise of the Southern Hemisphere's also-rans in recent times.

However, flanker Hooper must see to it that it's controlled aggression they exercise against the English, as his own rage and passion for the badge can too often spill over.

A new-look Wallabies set-up should look upon this as an unforgivable insult against their brand, and Twickenham presents a perfect chance to save some face.