Dylan Hartley not worried about England captaincy

Dylan Hartley insisted that he is not worried about England captaincy role despite he was replaced by head coach Eddie Jones after playing just 46 minutes in the Six Nations encounter against Wales at Millennium Stadium.

The Northampton hooker was replaced by Jamie George at the start of the second half while Owen Farrell took over the captaincy until the final whistle when England sealed a 16-21 win over Rob Howley's men.

Ever since, Hartley took over the captaincy, he has led the red rose team to 15 consecutive wins under Jones which prompted the 57-year-old to back him as captain despite his latest six-week ban while playing for Northampton Saints.

Hartley played down the incident and credited his team for handling the situation well in the closing stages

"I don't think it was early. I talked to Eddie and he said I captained the side brilliantly this week," Hartley said.

"There is a reason we have these finishers who come on and do their job for the team, as much as I do mine. I'm happy with my role.

"I came off the field and the team handled itself brilliantly - there is so much experience out there and these guys have good heads on them so the team runs itself."

Meanwhile, England boss Jones reasoned Hartley's replacement down to fatigue.

"Every decision is made on the ability of the player to work," Jones said.

"When they start to drop off and when they start getting slow off the ground - we have parameters for how quickly they get off the ground - we make a change. It's got nothing to do with anything else."

Our 6 Nations cover is sponsored by Allett Mowers