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Divisive England captain Dylan Hartley on verge of Lions call-up
By Ian Cameron
Controversial England Captain Dylan Hartley could be in line for an early Lions call-up as injury fears surround Welsh hooker Ken Owens.
Owens suffered an ankle injury in training this week and will not line out ahead of tonight's Pro 12 semi-final clash between Leinster and Scarlets in Dublin.
Owens was among three hookers named in Warren Gatland's 41 man Lions squad, which saw the England and Northampton Saints frontrower Hartley controversially omitted.
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Meanwhile Hartley is preparing to line out for Northampton as they take on Pro12 side Connacht in a Champions Cup play-off this weekend.
The England hooker - whose career has been littered with disciplinary issues - was widely regarded as being out of favour with Lions head coach Gatland, who chose Hartley's England understudy Jamie George ahead of the New Zealand born hooker for the gruelling tour of his homeland.
Lions squad members who are not involved in domestic competition have been continuing their preparation for the tour in the Vale of Glamorgan complex in Wales.
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Latest Comments
I thought you meant in europe. Because all of the reasons theyre different I wouldn't correlate that to mean for europe, as in french broadcasters pay two or three times as much as the UK or SA broadcasters do, like they do for their league.
With France, it's not just about viewers, they are also paying much more. So no doubt there will be a hit (to the amount the French teams receive for only playing a fraction of it) but they may not care too much as long as the big clubs, the top 8 for example, enter the meaty end, and it wouldn't have the same value to them as the top14 contract/compensation does. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the 3 separate networks broadcast deals only went to the clubs in their regions as well (that's how SR ended up (unbalanced) I believe).
Go to commentsHis best years were 2018 and he wasn't good enough to win the World Cup in 2023! (Although he was voted as the best player in the world in 2023)
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