'No one likes us because we are a proper rugby team'

Former England captain Dylan Hartley believes no one likes the men in white because they are a 'proper rugby' team.

England roared into life in Round 4 of the Guinness Six Nations, defying poor form and a conservative approach to shock hot favourites Ireland 23-22 in Twickenham.

The swashbuckling style of their gameplan seemed to rattle theretofore unbackable favourites Ireland, who fell to their first defeat since last year's World Cup quarter-final thanks to a last-ditch Marcus Smith drop-goal.

"England have been talking throughout the tournament about making the fans proud of the team; an intent to play," says Hartley. "A new England. The stats have shown that they are trying to deliver on that – they are passing the ball a lot.

"Against Scotland it didn’t happen for England and the result showed that if your fundamentals aren’t right, you can get punished, which is what happened.

"Duhan van der Merwe got his hattrick, but then, when you get it right, it’s unbelievable and, I think the proof is in the pudding of what this England team has been trying to show at the tournament with the performance against Ireland at the weekend. The approach to the tournament has been justified by the result against Ireland.

"That performance showed that this might be a young team, but it’s a serious one. To do what they did against a mature Ireland side who have been performing really well, will give England huge confidence going forward.

"I think England will get over there and that internal drive from the team to finish the tournament on a high before facing Japan and New Zealand in the summer will be a motivational factor. They will want the lasting memory of the tournament to be a good one. I think England can be really proud of themselves if they win this weekend. The true test for England is to back-up that performance against Ireland when they play France, who are not mugs.

"They will have to play with the same intensity, desire and skill level to win over there. Two wins in a row against two good teams will put England in good stead for a summer trip Down Under. I think New Zealand will be watching intently. It’s a chance for England to re-cement themselves as a contender.

Hartley also posited why he believes England are disliked by opposition teams and rugby fans the world over: It's because they are a 'proper team'.

"We don’t accept the underdog tag. England should believe that they can beat any team in the world. That is belief, it’s not arrogance. As soon as a team buys into being cast as the underdog, you’re buying into being subservient, sub-standard. Not good enough.

"You create a gap between yourself and the opponent. You don’t want to put yourself on that pedestal. We never did that as a team. Externally, we were happy for people to use that language when describing the team, but that is never a message we would convey to each other. You know man-for-man how hard you work.

"Look, England are a proper rugby team," said Hartley. "I’ll keep saying it".

"No one likes us because we are a proper rugby team. Even the South Africans and the Kiwi’s would acknowledge that because they know they are going to be in for a good game when England come to town.

"There is an expectation with England. We have a long, proud line of rugby history and we come out swinging when we need too."

You can read the full interview with Gambling Zone here.