Dylan Hartley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Dylan Hartley

Hartley in May 2012
Birth name	Dylan Michael Hartley
Date of birth	(1986-03-24) 24 March 1986 (age 39)
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
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2003–2005 Worcester 1 (5) 2005–2019 Northampton Saints 251 (140) Correct as of 7 November 2019 National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2007–2008 England Saxons 5 (10) 2008–2018 England 97 (20) Correct as of 7 November 2019

Dylan Hartley (born 24 March 1986) is a former professional rugby union player. He played as a hooker for the Northampton Saints club and was also the captain of the England national team.

Hartley led the England team from January 2016 until he finished his international career in 2019. He first played for England in 2008. For a time, he held the record for the most games played as an England hooker. This record was later broken by Jamie George in 2025. As captain, Hartley helped England win a "Grand Slam" in 2016. This was the first time England had won a Grand Slam since 2003. He also led them to win two Six Nations titles in a row. A big achievement was their 3-0 series win against Australia in the 2016 Cook Cup. During his 14 seasons with Northampton Saints, Hartley was captain for eight years. This was a very successful time in the club's 130-year history.

Early Life and Rugby Start

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 to England and attended Beacon Academy. A year later, the Worcester Warriors rugby club offered him a place in their special academy. At 17, he joined them. This was the start of his 16-year professional rugby career with Northampton Saints and England.

Club Career Highlights

Hartley first joined the Worcester Warriors academy. He played one senior game for them in the 2004–05 European Challenge Cup. In the summer of 2005, he moved to the Senior Academy of Northampton Saints.

He played in a big game for Northampton Saints in 2007, helping them win a Heineken Cup quarter-final. However, that same season, Northampton was moved down from the top league. The next season, Northampton won the EDF Energy Trophy. They also earned their way back into the top league. Hartley was a key player when Northampton Saints won the 2008–09 European Challenge Cup final against Bourgoin. On 22 July 2009, Dylan Hartley became the captain of Northampton Saints.

Hartley led Northampton Saints in the 2011 Heineken Cup Final and the 2013 English Premiership Final, though they lost both. He did, however, captain the team to victory in the 2014 Premiership final against Saracens.

In December 2014, Hartley signed a new three-year contract with Northampton. He chose to stay with the Saints even though a French club offered him more money. He wanted to keep playing for England. Hartley also helped the Saints get a spot in the European Rugby Champions Cup for the 2017/18 season. They won a play-off final against Stade Francais to secure their place.

On 7 November 2019, Dylan Hartley announced he was retiring from rugby. He had a knee injury that kept him from playing for all of 2019.

International Career Highlights

Dylan Hartley played for England at different age levels, including U18, U19, and U21. In 2007, he played his first game for the England Saxons team.

He earned his first full cap for England in 2008. This was during a series of games against the Pacific Islanders. Hartley made his first start for England against Argentina in June 2009.

In 2016, Dylan Hartley was chosen as the new England captain by coach Eddie Jones. He took over from Chris Robshaw. England then went on to win the Grand Slam in the 2016 Six Nations Championship. They also won two Six Nations titles in a row. Hartley then captained the team to England's first-ever away series win against Australia in June 2016. During that series, he became England's most-capped hooker of all time. This record was held by him until Jamie George surpassed it in 2025. Under Hartley's leadership, England achieved a world record-tying run of 18 test victories in a row.

Hartley was chosen for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia in 2013. However, he could not go because he was suspended after a red card in the Premiership Final.

International Tries

Hartley scored four tries for England during his international career.

Try	Opposing team	Location	Venue	Competition	Date	Result	Score
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

Disciplinary Issues

Dylan Hartley faced several disciplinary issues during his career. These led to him being suspended from playing for a total of 60 weeks.

In April 2007, he was banned for 26 weeks for an incident during a game. In March 2012, he received an 8-week ban. Later that year, in December 2012, he was banned for two weeks. In May 2013, Hartley was sent off in a final game and banned for 11 weeks. This ban meant he missed the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour.

In December 2014, Hartley was banned for three weeks. In May 2015, he was banned for four weeks. This put his selection for the 2015 Rugby World Cup at risk. In December 2016, Hartley received a 6-week ban for another incident during a game.

Weeks Banned

• 2007: 26 weeks
• 2012: 8 weeks
• 2012: 2 weeks
• 2013: 11 weeks
• 2014: 3 weeks
• 2015: 4 weeks
• 2016: 6 weeks

See also

In Spanish: Dylan Hartley para niños