The thug and scumbag Dylan Hartley has vowed to repay the faith paid in him by coaches and managers.
Utter Warren Gatland
Northampton captain Dylan Hartley says he wants to repay the faith coaches of club and country have shown in him.
The 27-year-old was sent off in the Premiership final and banned, missing the British & Irish Lions tour.
Hartley told BBC Radio Northampton: "I'm extremely thankful for the chances I've had with various coaches.
Analysis
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Ian Hunter
Former Saints and England full-back & BBC Radio Northampton summariser
There's no doubt Dylan is a fantastic player. There's also no doubt he's a great leader off the field and has a huge amount of respect among the players there.
I don't think anyone will have suffered more than Dylan. He's got to live with it - and missing a Lions series is punishment enough, especially after a series win.
We have to bear in mind his contribution all season, not just focus on a single act in last season's Premiership final.
"With Stuart Lancaster and Graham Rowntree at England, and Jim Mallinder here, there are loyal people sticking with me. I can't let them down."
In May's final, Hartley was already on a warning for arguing with Premiership final referee Wayne Barnes when he was shown a red card for offensive language and, according to the official, calling him a "cheat".
And Hartley knows there will be no further chances. He added: "Especially with Stuart, if there's anything else, it's the end of the road for me with England.
"I understand it can't be blind faith. I let Saints down because I wasn't there when they needed me.
"That will always hang over me. If we'd had 15 men on the field, we would've won that final."
Hartley, who has made 171 first-team appearances and won 47 England caps, says he considered resigning the captaincy at Franklin's Gardens.
He said: "There was a stage when I sat down with Jim and said, 'do people want to see a change in captain?'
"I had it clear in my head that I'd probably step down. I'd still be a good player, I'd still contribute but I didn't want that hanging over the new-look Saints, because this year we have a squad that can contend.
"[But] Jim and the coaching team have picked me."
Hartley says no-one is hurting more than him as a result of the red card and ban.
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"I'm not going to go around and apologise to every single supporter," he said.
"I'm very aware that it's the fans we play for and that they're very passionate about the game.
"But no-one is as passionate as me. I let my team-mates down. I lost the Premiership final and a Lions tour as well."
As for the sending off, the Saints hooker says his comments were directed at Leicester's Tom Youngs.
"I apologise for the outcome but when I, hand on my heart, know what I said and who I directed it at, I find it hard to apologise for that," said Hartley.
"Having been through the disciplinary process, I can see how it was interpreted and I've received a ban.
"You go through different stages of reflecting, a bit of mourning maybe. You're a bit upset then you re-focus and I've been through all that. I want to make a good impression come the start of the season."
To hear the Dylan Hartley interview in full, listen to BBC Radio Northampton on 104.2 and 103.6 FM from 18:00 on Friday, 9 August.
He has been given chance after chance and may as well change his suname to Henson on the back of it.
Its the people who keep giving these players chances and then appear shocked and disappointed when he lets them down,that I find wierd.
Appreciate that Gatland did the same but I think it all goes to show the dearth of decent hookers around the Home Unions at the minute more than anything else.
Never one looking to court popularity I can say that when I watch Dylan Hartley play for Saints he almost always impresses me with his commitment to them and of course he's no Rory Best but undoubtedly he is a good player.
The fact remains however that he is a sickness with a short fuse, has thuggish tendencies and is a disgraceful cheapshot merchant.
I fail to see how a player with that make up will ever be able to steer clear of bother. He might get a season out of it if he tries his heartstrings out but eventually, as night follies day he will revert to type.
Pity for the club who have stood by him but thems how those apples will fall.
NEVER MOVE ON. Years on, I cannot ever watch Ireland with anything but indifference, I continue to wish for the imminent death of Donal Spring, the FIRFUC's executioner of Wee Paddy & Wee Stu, and I hate the FIRFUCs with undiminished passion.
HwoodMike2umate wrote:Trevor Brennan.
Need I say more?
Surprised it took you so long
NEVER MOVE ON. Years on, I cannot ever watch Ireland with anything but indifference, I continue to wish for the imminent death of Donal Spring, the FIRFUC's executioner of Wee Paddy & Wee Stu, and I hate the FIRFUCs with undiminished passion.
If Jonny Wilko is most things a rugby player should be then Cipriani represents most things a rugby player should not be.
A complete waste of space who has achieved nothing worthwhile on the rugby field for almost 5 years and even then, is still trying to dine off one decent appearance.
The only newspaper that is remotely interested in him these days is the Daily Mail,which says it all in terms of his credibility from a rugby perspective.....
big mervyn wrote:I see Cipriani's a sex addict now
There is no such thing as an addiction to sex, Merv. Not in any physical sense and not, AFAIK, in any psychological sense either. It's a myth, so he doesn't even have that as an excuse. He's just an arsehole.
