When the history test duly came, Dylan Hartley couldn’t pass it without help from some of the Rugby School 1st XV players standing nearby.
There is a statue of William Webb Ellis outside the esteemed establishment where, according to legend, the sport was created. They have a commemorative plaque too. And along the main streets through the Warwickshire town which became the name of the game, signs hang off lamp-posts celebrating the recent anniversary of when ‘he took up the ball and ran with it’.
So, what year was that? When did Webb Ellis supposedly create rugby, during a game of football? It is a fair question to ask Hartley, the school’s ‘high performance lead’. In response, the former England captain turned to the two pupils who were within earshot and said: ‘Boys, when did he pick up the ball?!’
They knew their stuff, correctly stating it was 1823; 200 years ago last year.
There was a further exchange about the fact that Rugby School’s inter-house match is the ‘oldest competition in the world’, then came a follow-up from Mail Sport. Where did Webb Ellis supposedly run with the ball? Where did the act take place. ‘The Close, over there,’ said Hartley, pointing to the main pitch, where the current squad are soon going through their training drills.
Former England captain Dylan Hartley is enjoying a new lease of life at Rugby School
Hartley’s appointment as the school’s ‘high performance lead’ was announced back in July
He is working with players on the same pitch William Webb Ellis supposedly picked up the ball
Hartley served as England captain under head coach Eddie Jones, left, from 2016 until 2019
It is only fair to report that the back story of his new workplace is a subject of genuine interest for Hartley. He has a real regard and affection for the institution credited with creating the sport which, growing up in New Zealand, became an obsession to him – as it does for most Kiwis – before it also became a job for him on the other side of the world.
‘They call it football here,’ he said. ‘I feel a great debt, without being too deep. My whole life, my career, is based on what started here. If it wasn’t for this patch of grass, I wouldn’t have come to England and ended up doing what I did. It is strange, really. I feel very privileged to be here.’
Every Tuesday, Hartley is on duty helping different age groups from 8.30am to 4pm. He always finds time for a decent lunch, but otherwise he is busy and in his element. Several hours in the company of the ex-Northampton and England hooker, who won a Grand Slam and a Premiership title in his decorated career, revealed a man revelling in his new role.
There were greetings, supportive comments or jokes for most of the pupils he encounters – whether overseeing a scrummaging session, calling the shots during a training match or walking to and from the canteen and food hall in one of the school houses. When one boy said: ‘Hi Dylan’, the tongue-in-cheek reply was: ‘You can call me Sir – I’m being interviewed here!’ Hartley conveys a calm authority and a natural ability to connect with those around him, as was the case in his latter playing days.
He has not found himself up on a pedestal since taking the new job. Asked if his presence leaves the pupils awestruck, he said: ‘No – one of the lads called me Brett this morning! They didn’t even know my name.
‘It was five years ago that I was playing for England. The oldest guys here are 17, so I don’t know if they can remember what was happening when they were 12. The two or three years I had there (as England captain) were when these guys were between nine and 12, so it is almost irrelevant.
‘I’m kind of announced to the team and they’ll say, “Dylan used to play for England”. Some of them are Saints fans, or their dads are Saints fans and might tell them. It’s funny, when I tell the lads that I played with Maro Itoje or Marcus Smith, they say, “Wow, really?!”. That’s when they are interested!’
Hartley previously spent 18 months working at Stowe School – one of Rugby’s leading rivals. In that time he had a role mentoring the likes of Northampton’s rising stars Henry Pollock, Archie McParland and Ewan Baker. He found it rewarding and easy, in the sense of being asked to impart the wisdom from the best part of two decades playing the game at the highest level.
Hartley admits students are not left awestruck despite being a Grand Slam winning captain
Hartley reveals they are more interested by him playing with Maro Itoje and Marcus Smith
The former Northampton Saints captain and hooker retired from rugby back in 2019
Hartley made a deliberate decision to coach in school rugby, not the professional game
After a spell living in Dubai, where he worked in the oil and gas industry, Hartley and his family returned to the UK.
‘We missed England,’ he said. ‘We missed our life here, our community, the grass, the trees, the animals. We missed the British countryside. We missed the simplicity of it here. The Middle East was a great experience for us and, if anything, it gave us a greater appreciation and perspective about what life is like in the UK.’
As he spoke in such sentimental terms, a downpour inevitably started lashing the playing fields. ‘So, I’m glad to be back and it’s a good place to be… while it’s p***ing down with rain,’ he added. ‘I’d rather be cold than hot, by the way!’
The decision to coach in school rugby, not within the professional game, was a deliberate one. Hartley is happy with the balance he has achieved, between family time, his role with insurance company Brown & Brown, ambassadorial duties for Arena and some other ‘bits and pieces’, along with the Tuesdays spent on the grass, staying connected with his past life.
‘I retired and wanted to do mentoring and coaching, but not at an elite level, because I’d seen the dedication of the best, but also the volatility – and the cynicism of senior professionals,’ he said. ‘I’d seen how hard the best coaches work and I’d given everything to my career in terms of hours, time and energy. With a young family, I didn’t want that all over again.
‘Look at Steve Borthwick, Andy Farrell, Eddie Jones, guys like that; they commit their lives to it and I didn’t want to do that. But I felt like it was a waste of my experience to just wither away from the game without sharing some of it.’
So many former players struggle to find a meaningful and rewarding new career. Even the highest-profile and successful can find it tough to locate another outlet for their talents. Hartley spoke about how the game equips its protagonists with so many vital life skills, such as dedication, resilience and discipline – but it is another skill entirely to work out how to apply those qualities in an entirely different field. That is what he spent his time in Dubai working out, with some trial and error.
‘It takes time,’ he said. ‘I’ve had many jobs and work experiences. I’ve tried different consultancy roles and short-term contracts. I’m finally getting to the position where I enjoy the balance that I have in my life. I do a day’s coaching a week, so that scratches that itch and puts me back in that tracksuit I’m institutionalised to wear! I come to coach, teach and talk rugby, and even though they are 14-18 years old, they share the same culture, virtues and humour I was used to as a professional.
Hartley did not want to commit to elite level coaching and is happy with the balance he has
He instead is coaching one day per week, combined with his family life and business interests
Hartley acknowledged it had taken time to apply qualities from rugby outside of the sport
The former England captain credits Jones’ brutal honesty as being a help in his post playing life
Hartley is in touch with Jones and is set to go into his Japan camp when they face England
‘I wouldn’t even call this work really, it’s just pleasant. No two days are the same, but it’s all about people, with everything I do. I look at my captaincy; I was a basic player with certain technical skills, but it was the aspect of being a good team man and a people-person, which saw me through. That’s what I am finding now; that the same qualities help in the real world too.’
Part of what has equipped him for his new, varied working life is the tough experiences he had while serving as England captain under Jones. It was uncomfortable at the time, but Hartley is convinced that the forthright and demanding nature of the Australian has helped him in many ways.
‘Working with Eddie, achieving and wanting more and more and more… the sort of brutal honesty he showed with me, meant that I now walk into any room and I don’t get nervous about anything,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing that worries me. That’s because of the apprenticeship I had with Eddie.
‘You have to thank those people, because life is so much easier after it. Once you’ve been through the tough stuff, exposed yourself to that, survived and even thrived, everything else is a breeze by comparison.’
‘I am in touch with Eddie and hopefully I’ll be going into camp with Japan during the England week. I’m also going into England camp before their game against the All Blacks and taking two of our school coaches along. Steve Borthwick very kindly invited me down and if they can go and learn one thing, it will improve our programme here.
‘It’s a lovely day out and a privilege to be back in those environments, to see how hard the guys work and how diligently they prepare. If my two coaches can meet Steve and his coaches, and look at his planning, technical details and training drills, that can better their coach, then I’ll be doing my job.’
When he is on site, Hartley’s job is to add his own layer of insight and expertise to a strong, existing lineup of coaches at Rugby School. There is no shortage of talent to work with. The policy is for every boy to play the sport, meaning that multiple teams are created and fielded in each age-group, from ‘A’ through to ‘G’.
Many parents stump up for significant fees – more than £16,000 per term for boarders – so that their children can learn at a school where there are sky-high sporting standards and a track record of nurturing gifted youngsters who go on to play professionally. But Rugby also offer a range of scholarships and bursaries, which means Hartley works with a multi-national group of children, including refugees from Syria and Ukraine.
Hartley will take two coaches into Steve Borthwick’s England camp ahead of their match with the All Blacks
Hartley’s job is to add his expertise to the existing lineup of coaches at Rugby School
The former England captain is relishes the task of working with young players at the school
He relishes the task. ‘I do enjoy working with the kids,’ he said. ‘They are all a joy to work with here. They ask questions, which is good. It is easy, in that we are not exactly struggling for numbers here.
‘I’m not overly technical and tactical – I’m more philosophical. Don’t cut corners. Do things with intent. Do things properly. Be a good team player and a good person. I learned a lot from Eddie in that respect. He was very tactical and technical, but also philosophical with the big-picture stuff about attitudes to the game, the team and our responsibilities to our nation.
‘A lot of these young players now are watching rugby, and it’s all structured but we are losing the natural ability just to play heads-up rugby.
‘That is what I am trying to educate the kids about here. I’ll say, “Do what Marcus Smith does; play heads-up and go create a three-on-one”. The majority of the game is unstructured chaos and we need to be comfortable with that.
‘We have to stop coaching turgid, prescribed rugby. It seems ironic, me saying this, because I was a turgid, organised sort of player! But my eyes have been opened.’
Hartley is enjoying his new enlightenment – and the players at Rugby School appear to be enjoying his liberated input too. In the birthplace of the sport, they are learning new attitudes for the future, while not forgetting their cherished history.
