Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio has suggested that England hooker Dylan Hartley may need to leave Northamtpon in the wake of his red card against Leinster on Friday.
Speaking on BT Sport, Dallaglio said that the England captain may need to consider a move away from Franklin’s Gardens given his lack of gametime under Jim Mallinder this season.
“It’s all kind of unraveled for me since he was not Northampton captain,” said Dallaglio.
“When he was captain of Northampton he seemed to have things under control.
“For whatever reason, Jim Mallinder has decided that he’s had to take that captaincy away from him, and since he’s done that, Dylan Hartley has gone away and concentrated on himself a little bit.
“The big problem, as Brian said, is that he’s just not getting enough gametime.
“We can all get selected but eventually you have to get picked on what you do week in, week out, and it’s a real big problem for him.
“He may need to end up, and I’m not saying it, he may end up that he decides that he needs to move away from Northampton in the future just to change things around, in the same way that Chris Ashton is moving away from Saracens.”
Is it time for @SaintsRugby and Dylan Hartley to part company? #ChampionsCup https://t.co/yarla2jzDs
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) December 11, 2016
Dallaglio’s theory on the relationship between on-field indiscretions and a player’s club environment is interesting, but as the saying goes, you can take the hot-head hooker out of Northampton but it’s more than likely he’ll continue to accumulate red cards wherever he goes… or something like that.
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This week on the Oval Office Podcast, we speak with Section Paloise number eight Paddy Butler, and hold an in depth conversation with Geraint Powell about what the future holds for regional rugby in Wales.
https://soundcloud.com/punditarenarugby/we-chat-to-paddy-butler-and-much-more
Jack O’Toole, Pundit Arena
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Read More About: brian o'driscoll, dylan hartley, Dylan Hartley Red Card, jim mallinder, Lawrence Dallaglio, northampton saints, Northamtpon v Leinster, rugby tonight, tom wood
