Hartley's happy to get start
Saints star Dylan Hartley was happy with his first start for England, despite suffering defeat against a star-studded Barbarians side.
Ben Foden scored his first try for England in his first start for his country, powering over on the wing as Martin Johnson's men fell to a disappointing 33-26 defeat at Twickenham that will have set off a few alarm bells ahead of two Tests against Argentina, starting at Old Trafford this Saturday.
With Lee Mears on tour with the British & Irish Lions, Hartley had a chance to impress at Twickenham after making nine appearances from the bench for England.
The 23-year-old produced a solid display before being replaced by former Saints team-mate Steve Thompson after an hour and will surely start against a formidable Argentina side this weekend.
Hartley said: "I felt quite comfortable, the scrum went well, the lineout went well, I carried some ball.
"I played quite a solid game and I was quite happy with that to get that under my belt.
"Playing against the Baa-Baas, it is not a full on Test, so it is quite nice. You have got that buffer of not having as much pressure like a full-on international. I look forward to next week.
"We have got a few more boys coming back from Leicester this week, a few of them were rested after playing in the Heineken Cup last week. A few others are heading off with the Saxons, so it could be a new-look team next week.
"It is up to the coaches, but I think I did well, I did the basics well, I was quite happy with my game."
The Barbarians cut open England time and again, running in five tries, with Hartley's opposite number Schalk Brits putting in a display that will have warned the Premiership of his impending arrival with Saracens.
"Schalk Brits is a dynamic player," said Hartley. "He chased down Danny Care at one point and almost got an interception try, but he was getting marched back in the scrum. It was quite nice to play against him, because I have watched him quite a lot."
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Weather for Kettering
Saturday 11 February 2012
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