Dylan Hartley targets first Test series victory for England in Australia
Dylan Hartley is confident of England's success in Australia
©Press Association
England captain Dylan Hartley wants his team to create history by becoming the first England side to defeat the Wallabies in a Test series in Australia.
England have played 17 games against the Wallabies in Australia until now and have managed to win just three while losing the remaining 14 and are yet to register a Test series victory.
Despite suffering a setback in the 2015 World Cup, England have gone on to clinch the Grand Slam after 13 years in the 2016 Six Nations and also claimed the Old Mutual Wealth Cup by defeating Wales 27-13 at Twickenham on Sunday and are undefeated under the new coach Eddie Jones.
Hartley believes the England squad selected for the Australian tour is capable of registering a series victory against the Wallabies for the first time down under.
“It’s an opportunity, isn’t it,” said Hartley.
“It’s the first of four games for us and we’re keen to go and make some history in Australia. We’ve never won a series out there so that’s another big carrot for us.”
England are currently placed fourth in the World Rugby Rankings despite their victory against Wales while Australia remain intact on second.
The 30-year-old sees the three-Test series against the Wallabies as a good opportunity for England to gain some ground in their quest for the second spot.
“The win (against Wales) keeps us in that fourth ranking in the world.
“Australia are number two and that’s where we want to get to. We want to be in the top one or two in the world, so it’s the next step.”
England tour of Australia begins with the first Test on 11th June in Brisbane while the second and third games are scheduled to be played on 18th and 25th June in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.s
