Another Grand Slam victory will seal British and Irish Lions captaincy for Hartley - Gatland
Warren Gatland insisted that a Grand Slam victory for England in the upcoming Six Nations 2017 can seal the British and Irish Lions captaincy in the favour of Dylan Hartley.
The 30-year-old had stupendous success leading the red rose team to 13 consecutive wins last year and was among the favourites to lead the Lions in the gruelling tour of New Zealand in June. However, his latest six-week ban while playing for Northampton Saints after performing a stiff arm-tackle on Leinster's Sean O'Brien had raised questions on his discipline.
Despite, heading into the tournament without proper match exposure, with the backing of head coach Eddie Jones, Hartley is set to lead England team in their title defence for the upcoming Six Nations and Gatland believes despite the setback, success for the Northampton hooker in the tournament will make him an automatic choice for Lions captaincy.
"If Dylan Hartley leads England to another Grand Slam that could sway it," Lions head coach Gatland told the Daily Telegraph.
"Dylan has done a great job with his leadership with England. The sending-off looked like frustration to me. But Dylan has to contend with pressure, too, that of Jamie George pushing for his place (in the England team)."
This was not the first time a red card offence had affected Hartley's chances with the Lions as in the 2013 tour Australia, Rory Best replaced him after he was sent-off for abusing an official during the Aviva Premiership final.
Admitting England had a fantastic year under Jones, Gatland believes them maintaining the form will only benefit the Lions when they taken on back-to-back World Champions.
"The best thing is to have a strong England for the simple reason that all the other countries will be gunning for them, looking to knock them over, and so England will have to cope with that as well deal with the pressure of expectation that is on them as Grand Slam champions and on this long run of successive wins.
"A Lions tour is about pressure, of all sorts, and particular in the Test series, finding a way to come out on top.
"The players from the other countries will be absolutely up for it, busting a gut to put one over on England because the rewards for doing so are going to be massive, in the tournament itself and potentially for the Lions selection.
"I want to see how they go at England and how England respond. I want pressure to bring the out of them all. I want those players to front up. I want the English players to front up. And if they do come through it all, yes, that is good for the Lions."
