Dylan Hartley takes younger England players under his wing to ready them for Wales Six Nations test

The England captain insists the young back-row selected by Eddie Jones can look to the vastly experienced front-five for inspiration in how to cope with the fiery Cardiff atmosphere

Dylan Hartley has spoken with the inexperienced players in the England squad about the test that they face in Wales (Getty)

Dylan Hartley has turned to his senior England teammates to help ease England’s incredibly inexperienced back-row cope with what promises to be a fierce atmosphere inside the Principality Stadium when they take on Wales.

The England head coach, Eddie Jones, provided a sizable talking point with the inclusion of Harlequins back-row Jack Clifford in the starting XV alongside Maro Itoje and Nathan Hughes, with the trio holding just 20 international caps between them – and just four starting in the back-three of the pack.

Clifford makes only his second international start when he collects his ninth cap on Saturday, and the trio go up against a formidable triumvirate of Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric and Ross Moriarty, not to mention the imposing No 8 Taulupe Faletau waiting among the replacements.

With much made of the atmosphere and hostile environment that will await England in Cardiff, Hartley joined a number of his teammates in taking the younger players among the squad away from training during the week and talking them through what to expect in a bid to ready them for this weekend’s challenge.

“I asked some of the senior guys to pick up the guys that haven't played there and take them for a coffee, just to chat through their experiences and give the young guys a bit of advice,” Hartley said. “Just let them know about their experiences.”

He added: “I’d say every week is important leadership wise. There is a lot of talk and noise about atmosphere, off-field stuff. Tthere has been a role for the senior guys to talk to Jack, to talk to Maro who’ve never played there in an international. It’s part of the game, dealing with these things, it’s down to individuals to prep. Some people get excited by these things, some people find it daunting. It’s well-covered.

“But I don't want it to become a big, big thing - the fact that we're talking about it now, it seems like the main story, that this is more important than the rugby. This is just part of our preparation, one part of the week we deal with that and the rest is rugby.”

If Hartley’s message to the inexperienced members of England’s squad wasn’t clear enough, he summed it up for them in three words. “It’s not daunting.”

Hartley’s role as captain gives him two main roles when it comes to the younger players around him, to prepare and protect. To protect them on the field? “Are you serious?” he asks in bemusement. “Maro looks after me!” But he is reluctant to talk in detail about Clifford, the new man in the team this weekend, in order to keep the pressure of him.

He does however delve into the reasons why players like Clifford and Teimana Harrison, the man who Clifford replaces in the matchday squad as well as ousting Tom Wood in the starting line-up, can only be praised for sticking at it every week, despite suffering setbacks when they are sent back to their club on Tuesday when Eddie Jones makes his squad selection.

I don’t think experience is going to be a deal-breaker this weekend because you look what is in front of those guys and it is a front five that is pretty hefty in caps

Dylan Hartley

“He’s kept his head down for a long time,” Hartley said of Clifford. “He’s the guy who turns up every Sunday night, puts everything in Monday and Tuesday and then goes back and plays for his club on the weekend. Those guys are so important to the squad, and to see him get a shot this week in such a big game for us is a big pat on the back to him, perseverance.

“It’s not easy to do that, I did it a couple of times and those guys have to get a lot of credit. Teimana Harrison has done it a few times and Jack gets a shot this week.”

Hartley also believes that what England’s pack lack in the back-row, they make up for in the five in front of them. Joe Marler, Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes and Hartley himself boast a cumulative 289 caps at an average of more than 57 per person, and the captain believes if England suffer their first defeat under Jones this weekend, it won’t be through a lack of experience.

Courtney Lawes is one of those that has helped prepare the younger England players (Getty)

“Maro has been in the team a long time and he’s a fantastic player. I don’t think experience is an issue for him,” Hartley explains. “Nathan and Jack have been around the team for a long time too – Jack went on tour in the summer with us so he has done his time. He has stuck in there, been a really good influence within the squad and waited for his opportunity. He gets it.

“I don’t think experience is going to be a deal-breaker this weekend because you look what is in front of those guys and it is a front five that is pretty hefty in caps. We will be just fine. We’ve made those guys aware of what is coming this weekend. They are aware of that and they are the sort of guys that I think will thrive in that environment.”