This morning, it was revealed that Dylan Hartley, England’s captain whenever he has been fully fit in the (bizarre) Eddie Jones era, will not be in the World Cup squad for Japan. With respect, in how many households across the land was the news greeted, with howls of anguish? Hartley had long been in the ranks of the Eddie-isms, joining the Harlequins cabal of Chris Robshaw, Danny Care and Mike Brown as the undroppables, men for whom form, luckily, never seemed to be a consideration — just as brilliant form never seemed to do much for the counter-ranks of the banished, such as Danny Cipriani, Don Armand and Dan Robson. Hartley has not played rugby since December Adam Davy/PA“Dylan is my captain”, Jones would declare, every time the selection remotely became an issue.…

Source: The Times June 20, 2019 11:03 UTC