Hartley and Farrell plot as room-mates
Co-captains spent three years swapping ideas Tuilagi likely to make comeback from bench
England’s first ever co-captains, Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell, have spent three years scheming over coffees in their shared team hotel room to get to the point where their leadership duet can impact positively on events in Saturday’s first Quilter international against South Africa at Twickenham.
The alliance was formally ratified by Eddie Jones only a fortnight ago but the pair have been regular room-mates at England’s usual training base at Pennyhill Park, the forward-back Odd Couple with Farrell revealed as the messy one … the coffee-maker, a TV football watcher, and a singer in the shower, while Hartley likes simply to ensure his technical work has been completed when he returns to the room so that he can switch off completely.
The influence that the co-captains can bring to England’s performance will be hugely important, as players and as leaders. “I’ve always roomed with Owen and bounced ideas off him,” said Hartley. “He’s a sounding board. That has been in place for the last three years anyway. It’s just that now he has an official title. On the field, Owen leads by example. Off the field, it has been seamless. He presents meetings, asks questions, provides answers.
“From midweek the coaches take a step back and it is up to the likes of Owen and myself to really drive it forward into the weekend.”
That was Farrell’s responsibility alone in South Africa in the summer, captain for the first time in the concussion-enforced absence of Hartley, who watched from afar as England lost the opening two Tests of the tour (their fifth defeat in a row after a calamitous Six Nations campaign), bouncing back with a 25-10 victory in Cape Town.
The indications yesterday werethat Farrell may move to fly-half on Saturday in a new-look midfield, with Ben Te’o and Henry Slade in the centre. Manu Tuilagi looks poised to make his first international apperanace for two years from the bench. Chris Ashton is also hoping to end his international exile, but is not certain to be in the match-day squad.
Hartley has been in regular contact with Farrell, a relationship that has its roots not just in their mutual competitive desires but also, it appears, their simple ability to get along well together in the shared apartment at Pennyhill Park. “It’s not like we have two fish-finger beds next to each other,” said Hartley. “He’s in one room, I’m in the other and we’ve got a little lounge area. I try and do all my work before I get back to my room. I try and treat it like going home. If you don’t do all your work before you go home you don’t actually switch off.
“Owen is so messy. Living out of a suitcase is not easy, especially with kit. Owen still sings in the shower and makes the coffee.
“You’ve got to switch off at some point. He watches football on the telly, I don’t. We do switch off but we do bounce ideas off each other.”
There had been speculation that Hartley might lose his starting spot to Saracens’ Jamie George, but he will go head-to-head with one of the game’s most dynamic players, Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx.
It is 10 years since Hartley was given his Test debut by Martin Johnson against the Pacific Islands. His longevity is impressive, all the more so given the amount of internationals he has missed through suspensions. If the 32-year-old had been able to channel his energies more productively then he would surely already have passed the 100cap milestone. As it is he will head down the tunnel on Saturday for his 94th Test.
“With so many players vying for selection, it is hugely rewarding to be here,” said Hartley. “Everyone asks about trying to get to 100 games. I can honestly say I’m not counting. I’m just looking forward to the next one because you don’t know when your last game is or when your time is up. It is a bit like climbing a mountain – the higher you get up it, the harder it gets.”