Hartley keen to test himself against the best

NORTHAMPTON captain Dylan Hartley is looking forward to this evening, when he and his teammates will pack down against Munster in their Heineken Cup opener. You’d expect him to talk up his opponents, and he doesn’t disappoint.

“It’s as big as they come. What better challenge than Munster? Munster away is the only thing that could be harder than what we’ve got, so I guess at least home advantage will be nice. They were in the semi-finals last year and winners the year before, so it shows what they can do.

“They have plenty of big games, history, and a huge amount of travelling support. Personally I’m looking forward to facing Jerry Flannery. I just want to play against the best players and the best teams.

“At the moment, Jerry is one of the very best players in my position. He was incredibly unlucky with his injury (that ruled him out of the Lions tour), but I’m sure he has the character to come back stronger and better for it.”

When he details Flannery’s attributes, Hartley might be describing himself: “He’s dynamic, and really has all the attributes of a great hooker. His set piece is very solid and he can really get around the park. He’s been around for a while and has played quite a bit of rugby at a high level.”

What Flannery doesn’t share with Hartley is a chequered disciplinary record. The New Zealand-born Saint came to prominence when accused of gouging against Wasps two years ago, an offence for which he received a six-month ban.

Northampton attracted media attention by engaging psychiatrist Steve Peters to help Hartley; Peters had helped British police with a profile of the suspect in the Soham child disappearance case, though he has also worked with the England rugby team and Olympic athletes.

Hartley benefited from Peters’ advice: “I had to stop getting in off-the-ball situations because I could be a good enough rugby player without the niggly bits.

“What Steve gave me was a clear plan so I know what to think about before every game. It’s a step-by-step guide to what I have to do and how to put it into effect. I used to play my rugby with high emotion, very animated, but I was a bit of a loose unit.

“What he taught me to do was to think with the logical part of my head, and channel my energy so I still tackle and run with the same energy that I used to put into trying to annoy someone.”

He’ll do that plenty of that this evening. Northampton have lost one game in Franklin’s Gardens in two years (“And that was in Division One,” says Hartley).

“There is no doubt that Franklin’s Gardens is a difficult place to come to,” he adds.

“We’ve proved that over the last couple of years. We weren’t the whipping boys coming up from Division One that many people expect us to be, and the effect of Franklin’s Gardens and our crowd was really important to that.”

So has the fact that Hartley is captain. He plays down his role but there’s no denying that he leads from the front.

“We have plenty of leaders in our team, and the nine and 10 actually run how we play, I’m not in charge of the game on the pitch really. It means I can concentrate on enjoying playing my rugby, and I’m having a great time playing for the team.

“So far my job has been pretty easy, we haven’t started the season by losing every game. Overall, it’s a case of some pretty good times at Northampton right now. I like to be captain and like the responsibility, but in terms of what happens every day then it really is just as it was before.”

Northampton have some European pedigree themselves this year, after winning the European Challenge Cup last season. However, Hartley concludes by indicating the eternal challenge for English sides — dividing the focus between domestic and European commitments.

“We were really happy with that,” says Hartley. “Our away form wasn’t ideal so we couldn’t get high up the Premiership table and only finished eighth.

“If we hadn’t won that cup we wouldn’t be in the Heineken Cup this season. That was huge for us, so important. It meant that we had won some silverware and really gave us confidence that we could win big games.”