Dylan Hartley facts for kids
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| Birth name | Dylan Michael Hartley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 24 March 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rotorua, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb; 243 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Rotorua Boys' High School Beacon Community College |
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| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dylan Hartley (born March 24, 1986) is a famous former rugby union player. He played for the England national team and the club Northampton Saints.
Dylan Hartley was the captain of the England team from 2016 until he stopped playing in 2019. He is known for being England's most experienced hooker, a special position in rugby. He led England to win a "Grand Slam" in 2016. This was the first time England had won it since 2003. He also helped them win two more Six Nations titles. A big moment was when they beat Australia 3-0 in a series in 2016. For 14 years, Hartley played for Northampton Saints. He was their captain for eight years during a very successful time for the club.
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Early Rugby Journey
Dylan Hartley was born in Rotorua, New Zealand. He went to Rotorua Boys' High School there.
Even though Dylan grew up in New Zealand, his mother was English. This meant he could play for England. He decided he wanted to play rugby professionally in England. When he was 16, he moved from New Zealand to England. He went to Beacon Academy to continue his studies and rugby training.
After just one year, the Worcester Warriors rugby club offered him a spot in their special academy. At 17, he joined them. This was the start of his 16-year career playing professional rugby for Northampton Saints and England.
Playing for Clubs
Hartley first joined the Worcester Warriors' academy. He played one senior game for them in 2004-2005.
In the summer of 2005, Hartley moved to the Northampton Saints. He joined their Senior Academy.
He played a key role when Northampton beat Biarritz Olympique in a big European game in 2007. However, that same season, Northampton was moved down to a lower league.
The next year, Northampton won the EDF Energy Trophy. They also earned their way back into the top league. Hartley helped Northampton win the European Challenge Cup final in 2009. On July 22, 2009, he became the captain of the Northampton Saints team.
Hartley led Northampton in two big finals that they did not win. These were the 2011 Heineken Cup Final and the 2013 English Premiership Final. In the 2013 final, he was sent off the field for speaking rudely to the referee.
In 2014, Hartley captained Northampton to win the Premiership final against Saracens. This was a great achievement for the team.
In December 2014, Hartley signed a new contract with Northampton for three more years. He chose to stay with them even though a French team offered him more money. He wanted to keep playing for England.
Hartley helped the Saints get into the Champions Cup for the 2017-2018 season. They won a play-off game against Stade Francais to get the last spot.
On November 7, 2019, Dylan Hartley announced he was stopping rugby. He had a knee injury that kept him from playing all of 2019.
Playing for England
Hartley played for England's younger teams, including the U18, U19, and U21 groups. In 2007, he played his first game for the England Saxons, which is a team for players who are close to the main England squad.
He played his first game for the main England team in 2008. This was against the Pacific Islanders. Hartley started his first game for England against Argentina in June 2009.
In 2016, Dylan Hartley was chosen as the new England captain. He led England to win the Grand Slam in the 2016 Six Nations Championship. They also won back-to-back Six Nations titles. Hartley then captained the team that won a series against Australia in June 2016. This was England's first ever away series win against Australia. During this series, he became England's most capped hooker ever. Under Hartley's leadership, England also won 18 test matches in a row, which was a world record at the time.
Hartley was picked to go on the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2013. However, he could not go because he was suspended after getting a red card in a club final.
International Tries
Dylan Hartley scored four tries for England during his international career. A try is like a touchdown in rugby, earning points for the team.
| Try | Opposing team | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result | Score |
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| 1 |  New Zealand |
London, England | Twickenham Stadium | 2010 end-of-year rugby union internationals | 6 November 2010 | Loss | 16 – 26 |
| 2 |  Australia |
Melbourne, Australia | AAMI Park | 2016 Tour of Australia | 18 June 2016 | Win | 23 – 7 |
| 3 | New Zealand |
London, England | Twickenham Stadium | 2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals | 10 November 2018 | Loss | 15 – 16 |
| 4 |  Japan |
London, England | Twickenham Stadium | 2018 Autumn Internationals | 17 November 2018 | Win | 35 – 15 |
Challenges and Discipline
Throughout his career, Dylan Hartley sometimes faced challenges with rules on the field. These issues led to him being suspended from playing for a total of 60 weeks over time.
For example, in 2007, he was suspended for 26 weeks. This meant he could not join the England World Cup squad. In 2013, he was suspended for 11 weeks after a club final. This caused him to miss the important British & Irish Lions tour to Australia. These suspensions meant he missed out on playing in some big games and tours.
See also
In Spanish: Dylan Hartley para niños
