Rory Best’s Comments On Hartley & The Lions Captaincy Are A True Mark Of The Man

Just give him the Lions captaincy already.

Dylan Hartley served as the frontrunner for the Lions captaincy for many months before his latest suspension. The England hooker was suspended for six weeks following a swinging arm challenge on Leinster’s Sean O’Brien in the Champions Cup last month.

This latest suspension brings Hartley’s career total up to a whopping sixty weeks and for many has essentially ruled him out of contention for the coveted British & Irish Lions captaincy role.

2013 captain Sam Warburton recently handed the Welsh reigns over to Alun Wyn Jones, leaving Best and Jones the two leading contenders for the role as it stand, with Best slightly out in front heading into the Six Nations.

The Ireland captain however, believes Hartley still has a chance. When asked by Sky Sports about Hartley’s chances, the Ulsterman had this to say:

“Dylan’s not injured, so he has an opportunity to get a good block of training done without getting beaten up every week in a match situation,” Best said.

“So from that side of things, when you get to March and the shake-up in the Six Nations for the last two rounds of that, you’d be going a long way to say that his ban from December would be dictating events.”

A true mark of the man. He’d make a great Lions captain that’s for sure.