A big blow for Hartley
EXCLUSIVE ENGLAND captain Dylan Hartley is set to miss the summer tour to South Africa unless he can overcome the concussion issue that has sidelined him since the Six Nations by next week.
Hartley was injured in the final game of the championship against Ireland and has been unable to shake off the symptoms since.
Northampton have no game this weekend so he will be able to take advantage of a quiet week to try to make progress, but if there is no improvement, England look likely to have to start planning for the threeTest tour without him.
Concussion management is one of rugby union’s hottest topics and with Hartley having suffered previous problems Eddie Jones is unlikely to take any risks with the 32-year-old who, despite the challenge of Jamie George at hooker, remains in pole position to lead England at next year’s World Cup.
Two years ago Hartley missed a combined total of 14 weeks after two separate concussions during the season, the second in the Grand Slam win over France. He admitted he had no recollection of lifting the Six Nations trophy afterwards.
On his return he said another concussion would leave him thinking about his future in the game but while there is no question of that at this point, caution – and a prolonged period of recuperation – would seem to be the wise policy.
Hartley has captained England in 26 of Jones’s 28 Tests since the Australian took over and if he were to miss the trip in June it would have twin knock-on effects.
Owen Farrell, who led the side against France in the Six Nations when Hartley was absent with a calf strain, would be next in line as captain and George the alternative as starting hooker but, as Test Lions last summer, both are in the category of player Jones was considering resting for the trip. “We still have to look at how we look after the Lions players. That’s still a concern for us,” Jones acknowledged last month.
“We will do that and that was always in the plans. We’ll just see if there are any players who will benefit more from not going on the tour.” England are already resigned to being without Anthony Watson, Courtney Lawes and Nathan Hughes for the tour and Jonathan Joseph is expected to miss out though injury too. The Bath centre damaged ankle ligaments against Saracens on Sunday, left Allianz Park on crutches, and is due to see a specialist later this week with a view to possible surgery. And Billy Vunipola, who was targeting a return from the broken arm that cost him a Six Nations spot three weeks ago, has still not been cleared for a return to action. But on the flip side scrum-half Ben Youngs, who was on the field for only 10 minutes of a bitterly disappointing championship for England, made a safe return off the bench for Leicester on Saturday after a knee ligament injury. He is in line to start his first game for three months against Newcastle a week on Friday.
Youngs would be one candidate to lead the side in South Africa if Hartley is absent and Farrell rested, with George Ford and Chris Robshaw the other obvious alternatives. They were joint captains for England’s non-cap match against Samoa in the autumn when Hartley was on the bench.
England have one warm-up match ahead of the tour against the Barbarians at Twickenham on May 27, although none of the players from the two clubs involved in the Premiership final the day before will be available.
CORNWALL’S hopes of hosting top-level club rugby received a significant boost yesterday when funding for a new stadium which would host Cornish Pirates and Truro City FC was approved.
Cornwall Council gave the green light to a £3 million investment towards the £14.3m Stadium for Cornwall project at Langarth.