England coach Eddie Jones said he wants fiery captain Dylan Hartley to play like Tarzan when the Six Nations tournament begins against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
“On the field he’s got to be Tarzan,” the Australian told the BBC on Monday. “He’s got to get out there and play with his heart and if he does that the players will follow him.”
Hartley was a controversial choice as captain because of the New Zealand-born player’s long history of ill-discipline at club level with Northampton.
Photo: Reuters
He has won 66 Test caps, but has accumulated bans totaling 54 weeks for head-butting, biting, gouging, swearing at referees, elbowing and punching.
Jones, who replaced Stuart Lancaster in November after England’s dismal showing at their home World Cup last year, has said he admires Hartley’s “aggressive and uncompromising approach,” but he also sees something else.
“The first time I met him, we came to the kitchen and he was speaking to people behind the counter, he was very polite and respectful,” he told the BBC. “He gets around, talks to people, encourages people to be involved.”
“Leadership is not about being in the front of the bus, beating your chest and saying: ‘do as I do.’ It’s about engaging people and finding out what qualities they have. I’ve been pleased how Dylan’s done that.”
Hartley is unlikely to play the full 80 minutes on Saturday and Jones said he would name a deputy when he announces his team.
The coach also indicated that 21-year-old Saracens forward Maro Itoje and Wasps back Elliot Daly need more time.
“Those two boys, I want them to be 60-Test players at least,” he said. “Now I’ve got to pick the right time to put them in.”
“They’ll play Test rugby for England — they’ll definitely play in the Six Nations at some stage, but I’ve got to pick the right opportunity for them to play,” Jones said.
“Their time will come,” he added.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
RSS