Whether England succeed or fail under their new captain, Dylan Hartley, they are entering a very different style of regime. Eddie Jones has already set out his vision and it can be bluntly summarised as encouraging the devil to take the hindmost.
“The biggest risk was not to take a risk,” said Jones, after inviting Hartley to reintroduce a bit of mongrel to an English pack he has already identified as needing more bite.
Even Jones concedes, however, he has his fingers crossed that his resurrected spiritual leader, who missed the last World Cup and the 2013 Lions tour as a consequence of disciplinary indiscretions, will reward his faith during this year's Six Nations championship.
“You always look at that,” he said. “You just have to hope and pray it’s not going to happen. We all make mistakes as young people, but people mature. Life changes, priorities change.
“Dylan can lead the side with the sort of attitude we want. We want a team with an uncompromising feel about it. We need to change English rugby and get back to what the rest of the world fears about English rugby and that’s their forward play.”
There is nil desire, in short, for England to be apologetic choirboys, which helps explain the promotion of Hartley in succession to Chris Robshaw, singled out by Jones as "still an important part of the team". The Northampton hooker has never been the one-dimensional pantomime villain he is painted and his no-nonsense playing style fits neatly with Jones's vision of how Test rugby works.
“He’s a pretty common-sense sort of bloke,” said the head coach. “I’ve found him to be very receptive to ideas and suggestions and he’s already set some protocols as to how they want to behave. We’re trying to give more back to the players because I want the players to lead, I don’t want the players to be subservient to the coaches. Rugby is a chaotic game. The only way you can overcome that chaos is by having leadership on the field.”
Figurehead target
Jones is also of the opinion Hartley was unlucky to miss out on the World Cup and is convinced the players “will follow him”. He also gives short shrift to the notion that opposition sides will look to target his figurehead above all other priorities.
“If he is [targeted] then it’s great because it takes the emphasis away from what the other team needs to do to win. If they spend half their time baiting Dylan they are going to be wasting their time.”
By his own admission, Hartley is not an England captain straight from central casting. He still has clear memories of reporting to Twickenham as a Kiwi-reared teenager for an age-group camp carrying a backpack and wearing flip-flops. "I went through security and saw the James Haskells and Tom Crofts getting dropped off in their chinos and blazers. I thought: 'Jeez, I'm a long way from home here.'"
Fourteen years and 66 caps later he has finally completed his awkward journey from outsider to establishment figure. There have been any number of well-publicised disciplinary hiccups along the way but Jones has decreed that the endless “Hartley in a jam” headlines are yesterday’s news – at least until the next time he strays from the path of righteousness.
Better a sinner who repenteth and all that? Actually, Hartley insists he would not change anything – the missed Lions tour and World Cup included – and owes his promotion to precisely that streak of defiance. “It’s been bumpy but it’s been fun,” he countered, reflecting on his unorthodox route from wild thing to oval-ball statesman. “I wouldn’t change any of it. Maybe without the setbacks I wouldn’t be sat here.
‘On the edge’
“I am me. It’s there in print for you to see what I’ve done wrong and what I’ve been guilty of. So it’s quite nice today to be talking about something nice for once. I’m well aware of the perception and the reputation that comes with it – but I played my best when I’m on the edge. We all know it: don’t go over the edge.”
This is certainly an England captain going in with his eyes wide open. Already he has told his players to show humility, pick up their own rubbish (“Rugby players are messy buggers”) and not to sit at the dining table with their hoods up staring at their phones. He wants players to show the right attitude, not least himself.
“Trepidation? No. Look what I’ve been through with Northampton. I feel I’m prepared for the job.”
Bad behaviour: Hartley's rap sheet
April 2007 - banned for 26 weeks after being cited for eye-gouging Wasps forwards James Haskell and Jonny O'Connor.
March 2012 - received an eight-week suspension after being cited for biting Ireland forward Stephen Ferris' finger while playing for England in the Six Nations game.
December 2012 - banned for two weeks after being cited for punching Ulster hooker Rory Best during a Heineken Cup match.
May 2013 - sent off for calling referee Wayne Barnes a f**king cheat during the Premiership final against Leicester at Twickenham. Received an 11-week suspension that sidelined him for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.
December 2014 - sent off for elbowing Leicester centre Matt Smith in the face. Banned for three weeks.
May 2015 - banned for four weeks after headbutting Jamie George in Northampton's 29-24 Aviva Premiership semi-final defeat to Saracens. As a direct consequence, England ruled Hartley out of their World Cup plans.
