Before Eddie Jones’s England players returned to their clubs after the final autumn international, against Samoa on 25 November, the head coach said he expected them in the following eight weeks to show their desire to be part of a World Cup-winning team in 2019 by producing world-class form. However, few of the 31 who gathered in Brighton at the start of last week for a training camp before the Six Nations have stood out in the seven rounds of league and European matches since then, not least his captain, Dylan Hartley, who has succumbed to the malaise afflicting his club, Northampton, notable only for his mistakes.
Last weekend against Harlequins the Saints fielded six of Jones’s previous selections and conceded 50 points for the second time at Twickenham this season, making it just as well they are unlikely to return there for the Premiership final in May. Hartley missed five of the 10 tackles he attempted but the England head coach is not minded to drop the hooker who has led England to two Six Nations titles and through two unbeaten autumn campaigns.
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