I’m not writing off Saints yet
“Mallinder is where the buck stops on performance ... he and Northampton are under the microscope”
WE have a tendency to go on autopilot when we hear that Dylan Hartley has been redcarded again. We think about the 54 weeks of previous convictions, rather than seeing it in isolation. The incident was a high tackle, a swinging arm aimed towards the back of Sean O’Brien, and with the Leinster flanker falling Hartley’s timing was all discombobulated, and he hit him on the head.
It was a red card, especially in view of World Rugby targeting high tackles, and so I’m not surprised by the six weeks Hartley was given – however, the 12 week ban that was being suggested would have taken some justifying. It should also be remembered that with lawyers involved in disciplinary hearings in the professional era, they are nothing like they were 20 years ago.
It was another sign of smart management by Eddie Jones not to preempt things by making a statement about Hartley immediately after the incident. It makes sense not to make any decision about a player until a disciplinary position is known.
Jones usually makes captaincy issues clear in the build-up to the Six Nations, or any other international window, and I expect him to confirm Hartley as captain in either his first Press conference of 2017 in Brighton in early January, or even before that.
An incident like the one involving Hartley and O’Brien should not be the sole reason for losing the captaincy. It’s far better for leadership issues to be decided on playing form rather than for disciplinary reasons. However, a six week ban before England’s first game against France at Twickenham on February 4 will mean that Hartley will probably not be match-ready – so, if he starts ahead of Jamie George, he will be under real scrutiny.
Hartley’s set-piece play is very solid, but he is not a ball-carrier in the Mako Vunipola mould, and George is a more dynamic hooker. However, what England have needed – and what Hartley brings – is set-piece stability.
It should also be remembered that rugby players do not go out to be made into role models, instead they become role models by default.
Hartley has been around the block, and his outlook on life is enhanced by coming through the bachelor pad existence with team-mates to becoming a father and having his own family. That helps him to communicate on all levels with the players in the England squad.
Hartley has come in for some criticism at Northampton, including from rugby director Jim Mallinder, with the sending-off adding to a long absence from club action due to injury. This has coincided with the Saints struggling to rediscover the mojo of their top-end Premiership status from 2012 to 2015. Over that four-year period Northampton won their first Premiership title in 2014, and never came lower than fourth in the table.
During that time it was very personal between Northampton and Saracens, and it became extremely intense with two top dogs scrapping it out in a similar way to the old Bath-Leicester stuff. However, since then Saracens have upped their game and moved quite a distance ahead, with the Saints struggling to keep pace.
Northampton is a club which has not re-energised itself this season, and there seems to be a disconnect between the coaches and the players. They are ninth in the league, having already lost six games, which is staggering given the resources of the club and the quality of the squad available.
Hartley, Louis Picamoles, Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, George North, Ben Foden, Luther Burrell, Teimana Harrison, Paul Hill and Kieran Brookes are all internationals, and Mike Haywood and Alex Waller have growing reputations. That means there are a lot of quality players that are completely underperforming.
You would expect Northampton to be winning when they are in tight spots, rather than making do with losing bonus points, and that is something they have in common with last season’s Bath side. In many of the interviews you hear the same things from struggling head coaches, with them blaming poor discipline, too many mistakes, and not finishing chances.
This is a test of the coaching ability at the club – and in particular the head coach’s ability – to get them out of trouble. Mallinder is where the buck stops on the performance front, and he and Northampton are under the microscope.
This also highlights the departure earlier this season of backs coach Alex King, who helped Saints to win their 2014 Premiership title, and Mallinder and company appear to have lost the snap, crackle and pop of that campaign.
However, there has to be massive mismanagement for a head coach to lose the changing room. If he has been there for a while then there should have been plenty of decent, open, honest dialogue between him and the senior players, and that is why you often hear players saying it is not the head coach’s fault as much as the team for not delivering.
I never played for a club in that situation, so I can only surmise that it happens when it becomes dysfunctional. Although, whatever is responsible, it is up to their head coach to fix it – whether by changing players, dropping some and promoting others, or kickstarting the team with what he’s got.
The Premiership has got harder each year, and Northampton are one of those sides that others appear to have caught up – but I would not write them off. With the quality in this Saints squad they could turn the corner after Christmas, and as easily as it has gone, it could come back.
Northampton have many more internationals than Exeter, for example, but the Devon side are usually more than the sum of their parts. Northampton finished fifth last season, and they need European Cup rugby from a commercial viewpoint, and if they didn’t qualify, similar to Bath last season, there would probably be an internal review.
It’s also worth looking at how long Arsene Wenger has been manager at Arsenal without winning too much in recent times, but still making them good to watch – so I’m not putting a negative spin on this one.
The longer Northampton’s losing run goes on, the harder it gets to put right, but the Saints have the squad to get out of a tight corner.