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Jones: Hartley leadership absolutely outstanding

Travis PerkinsSponsored by Travis Perkins

Eddie Jones has once again hailed the captaincy of Dylan Hartley and is confident the squad have the right mindset to whitewash Australia this weekend.

Since teaming up to lead the England, the Jones-Hartley partnership has yet to lose and the head coach is predicting that eight straight Test wins will become nine in Sydney this Saturday.

“The captaincy of Dylan has been absolutely outstanding," Jones told England Rugby TV. "He’s led the team superbly and it’s great for the players because as you know eight months ago they weren’t feeling great about themselves."

“I sense an intensity about them, a real intensity about wanting to do the job well and you’ve got to remember that when we came to Australia they tried to humiliate us.

“Now they’ve got an opportunity to feel good about themselves and rugby in England has had a bit of a lift. The Under-20s are going to win the World Championship and we will win 3-0, it’s great for English Rugby.”

The only change to the match day 23 is the introduction of Teimana Harrison on the open side and the England boss believes it will be a contest that suits the tenacious Saint.

“Harrison is probably a bit more of a ball carrier than Haskell and the law of averages suggests we’ll get more possession in this game.

“He has to play like Harrison, and it’s up to the rest of the pack to pick up the physicality.

“They’re all keen to play and their well-being status was good. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to beat Australia 3-0."

The game, which kicks off at 11am BST, is being shown live on Sky Sports 1.

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