Dylan Hartley believes his successor as England captain Owen Farrell will come back from France a better player and does not think his international career is over.
Farrell had stepped away from Steve Borthwick's England setup for the ongoing Six Nations to prioritise his and his family's mental health and ruled himself out of further contention when he revealed he would be leaving Saracens at the end of the season to join Racing 92 on a two-year contract.
Kiwi-born hooker Hartley, who won 97 caps for England between 2008-18, is expecting the all-time England points scorer to return to Test rugby at some stage.
Hartley said: “Knowing the man, he is pretty driven, and I don't think he is done in an England shirt yet. We shouldn't forget he is England's highest ever points scorer. There will always be an opportunity for a world class player to come back. Johnny Sexton and Finn Russell both did it. He is far from finished.
“Captaincy is a thankless task. It is a bit like coaching. When it goes well it's always about the team, when it goes wrong it's the coach or captain's fault. People forget that we only see two per cent of what captaincy is in the 80 minutes of a game. There's another six days in the week where captaincy is integral to the team, how it prepares and ultimately how it performs on the day.
“That is the biggest void Owen will leave. On his day a world class rugby player. The void he will leave off the field will have to be filled. This is where people don't see the true benefits of having an Owen Farrell in the team as captain.”
Hartley believes Farrell's switch to Paris is a solid move for the fly-half and thinks he'll thrive alongside stars like Siya Kolisi, Gael Fickou and Henry Arundell.
“For him emotionally moving to France will be a good spark for him and his family to check a new environment,” Hartley told Instant Casino. “He can always come home. He could even return as a better player.”
