Eddie Jones fires warning at Dylan Hartley to keep England captain on his toes ahead of autumn internationals

Jones has reminded Hartley he is 'not a Lord' and warned him that he must maintain his performance and attitude to remain England captain this season

Dylan Hartley has been given a reminder that he is not safe as England captain by Eddie Jones (Getty)

England coach Eddie Jones has fired a warning towards Dylan Hartley by reminding him “he’s not a Lord” and that the national captaincy is “always up for grabs.”

31-year-old Hartley, who has been named as part of England’s three-day pre-season training camp, was recently re-named Northampton captain and took over the England captaincy from Chris Robshaw for the 2016 Six Nations, where England won the Grand Slam, before leading the country to a world record-equalling 18 consecutive wins.

However, Jones clearly wants to keep the 86-cap forward on his toes after he warned him on Friday that he could be replaced at any time. “If he comes to the camp and he’s in bad condition and he’s got a bad attitude then he won’t be captain. If he comes to the camp he’s fit, he leads by example, he’ll be captain for the first test.”

When asked if he was looking to replace Hartley as England skipper, Jones added: “I’m always looking to see how we can improve the team.

“Dylan knows it’s not something he’s anointed, he’s not a Lord, it doesn’t stick with him for life. It’s a role that he plays and when he plays it well, he’ll keep the job. If he doesn’t play it well, there are other people who can do it.”

Hartley captained England’s summer series against Argentina, winning 2-0, after missing out on the British and Irish Lions squad, and Jones believes he also deserves respect for leading England to 18 wins in his 19 games as captain so far during his reign, with the only defeat coming in the Six Nations finale against Ireland earlier this year. “I think he’s got more than a bit of credit.

“I think they’ve (Northampton) seen the great job he’s done with England and decided they’d like that at their club,” added Jones who was pleased to see Hartley regain the captaincy at his club.

Hartley has been reinstalled as Northampton captain (Getty)

Hartley has been banned for a total of 60 weeks since 2007 but remains Jones’ first choice captain. He was overlooked in the 2017 Lions tour of New Zealand, yet Jones kept faith with him by selecting the hooker to lead England’s summer tour of Argentina where they secured 38-34 and 35-25 victories with an incredibly inexperienced side.