Dylan Hartley is expected to be fit for next Saturday’s Premiership final against Saracens, but the Northampton captain’s selection is not guaranteed after the Saints won the Amlin Challenge Cup against Bath with an emphatic finish at Cardiff Arms Park.
Hartley, who is needed by England for next month’s tour to New Zealand with Tom Youngs unavailable because of a family illness, has not played for two months since fracturing his shoulder against Leicester. He had hoped to play in Friday’s final, but it came a week too soon.
“Dylan trained in the week and took contact on the shoulder,” said the Northampton director of rugby, Jim Mallinder. “He is in the equation for Saracens and selection for that game is going to be massive. We have a decision to make at hooker and it is going to be a big call with the other two players in that position [Mike Haywood and Ross McMillan] playing really well.”
Hartley is all the more anxious to play after his experience in last year’s final against Leicester. He was sent off just before half-time for using abusive and insulting language to the referee, Wayne Barnes, after a series of scrum decisions went against Northampton. The 12-week ban meant he was unable to tour Australia with the Lions.
Northampton have never won the Premiership and they are the underdogs against Saracens, but Mallinder believes the Amlin success, which ended a run of defeats in four finals in various competitions, will give his players self-belief against opponents they defeated at the semi-final stage last season away from home.
“It was important for us that we won the trophy and that is why we picked a strong team one week out from the Premiership final,” said Mallinder. “Bath started strongly against us, as we knew they would having had a week off, but we back our fitness against anyone and we came back strongly in the second-half.
“We have come close in all the finals we lost, but it is about belief and getting a monkey off our back means we can look forward to the match against Saracens.
“We are going to go for it and we will need to replicate the physicality and intensity we showed in the second-half against Bath. We know it will be difficult, but we have to get stuck into them and see where we end up.”
Northampton are finishing the season strongly after a wobble immediately after the end of the Six Nations. They are unbeaten in six matches in all competitions since losing by four points at Saracens in the middle of April and Hartley’s return means they have a full squad to pick from.
“Beating Bath and winning a trophy will give us confidence,” said the England flanker Tom Wood, who led Northampton in Hartley’s absence. “The last four years have been hugely frustrating because we reached finals without being able to finish things off. It was a long time coming but that has changed now and our minds are set on winning a double.
“The success in the Amlin showed the strength in depth we have developed. A number of players who helped us get to the final were not in the match-day squad against Bath and their contribution this season has been huge. We have the experience and the confidence to succeed in the final and this week will be about making sure we finish the season on a high.”
