From Saint to sinner and back

YOU KNOW you’re in trouble when an interview starts with a list of questions that are off-limits.

But as Dylan Hartley firmly says, “look, no questions on the World Cup, okay?” you realise this is a man who has changed over the last few months. Always a little wary of the media, Hartley’s demeanour now resembles the human version of a door being slammed in your face.

In many ways, it is not surprising. The majority of the England squad came back from the World Cup in New Zealand with an almost allergic reaction to the Fourth Estate for daring to report on Mike Tindall’s night out with dwarves and more statuesque blondes, the abandoning of ferries mid-voyage and, in Hartley’s case, alleged lewd comments made to a female hotel worker. Occasionally, we had to report on the rugby as well, but that was just as ugly as any of the disastrous events off the pitch.