Defiant Hartley is aiming for first England series win Down Under
ENGLAND skipper Dylan Hartley has sounded a defiant battle cry ahead of the threeTest series against Australia by declaring: “We’re in it to win it.”
Hartley’s six-match unbeaten run as captain under Eddie Jones goes on the line when England face the fired-up Wallabies in Brisbane this Saturday.
However, he told The Rugby Paper: “What’s the point of going if we’re not going to win it? We’ve never won a series there so it’s a huge opportunity.
“I don’t think there’s any harm in saying we want to win the series, otherwise what’s the point of touring? This isn’t a make-up-thenumbers game at the end of the season, we want to go down there and really challenge the Australians.
“That’s the attitude from Eddie Jones down, and we’re in it to win it.”
Hartley believes last week’s impressive victory over Wales, which was achieved without 10 key players, has improved England’s chances.
“For starters, it’s given us more confidence because it was the first game of what we’re treating as a four-game series,” Hartley said.
“There’s always some fear around going on tour on the back of a loss, which is not a nice feeling, so I’m happy with that big win over Wales.
“Secondly, the lads coming in will only bolster the squad, and quite a few of those performances against Wales will have given the coaches selection options. “Joe Launchbury deserved his man-of-the-match award, Courtney Lawes ran a 100 per cent lineout and we had a very effective drive as well. “We played off that well and now we’ve got two double-winners in George Kruis and Maro Itoje coming back, which is great for the squad. And then there are Luther Burrell, Matt Mullan, Marland Yarde, Jack Clifford and Teimana Harrison, all those boys stepped up, which shows the depth we have.”
England looked dangerous in broken field play against Wales, which augurs well for the faster grounds they should encounter down under.
However, Hartley insists that their game will still be based largely around a solid set-piece which he believes has improved since the Six Nations.
He explained: “For me, we’ll always have a good setpiece focus and a solid defence and I think we’ve made big improvements since March.
“Against Wales our scrum delivered a lot of usable ball to our No.8, we got penalties when we needed them and strangled the life out of Wales with our maul.
“We’ve got to look at our game speed against Australia because their guys play in Super Rugby, but regardless of that we want a dominant set-piece.”
Despite his early success as England captain, Hartley refuses to take his position for granted.
He added: “You’re always judged by your last game so I’m aware it’s a week-toweek thing, but I feel fit and strong and am looking forward to the challenge.
“We’re in a good place and there’s an opportunity to make history now, with a series to be won if we can pull together over these next three weeks.”