STUART LANCASTER believes England will get an extra five per cent out of Dylan Hartley this weekend after the Saints star was handed the captaincy.
Hartley will lead the Red Rose out in their third and final Test against South Africa in the absence of Chris Robshaw, who has been ruled out of the rest of the tour due to a hand injury.
It will be the first time the Northampton hooker has skippered his country and he becomes the first Saint to captain England in a Test match since Matt Dawson in 2001.
It’s a rapid turnaround in fortunes for Hartley, who was banned for eight weeks in March for biting the finger of Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris during the Six Nations.
Lancaster is clearly unfazed by that misdemeanour and sees Hartley as the ideal man to stand-in for Harlequins ace Robshaw.
And he expects the Saints man to step up his performance level in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
“In the changing room before the game you hear lots of voices,” said the England boss.
“You have the captain’s voice but I can guarantee you Dylan’s voice is close behind, encouraging, shouting, motivating.
“I think it will add five per cent on Dylan Hartley this weekend, definitely.”
Hartley could be joined by Saints team-mate Lee Dickson in the England starting line-up after first choice scrum-half Ben Youngs, like Robshaw, suffered an injury blow.
Youngs will miss the final Test, leaving the door open for Dickson or Quins man Danny Care to wear the No.9 jersey.
The Saints man will play against the Northern Barbarians on Tuesday evening and his performance in that game could dictate whether he gets a start on the big stage this Saturday.
Lancaster said: “Lee is desperate for some game time.
“He has come off the bench for five or 10 minutes and I was always going to give him the starting berth in this game.
“We need to protect Lee and take him off around half-time. Then we have got a decision to make between Lee and Danny, but I am reasonably close in my mind.”