Saturday 28 January 2017 11:16, UK
A second consecutive England Grand Slam would likely see Dylan Hartley captain the Lions, according to Warren Gatland.
Gatland will lead the Lions as head coach on their tour to New Zealand this summer, live on Sky Sports, having taken charge of the victorious 2013 tour to Australia.
England skipper Hartley has a disciplinary record encompassing 60 weeks of suspensions, with his most recent transgression coming in the European Cup for Northampton in December as he saw red for a swinging arm to the head of Leinster flanker Sean O'Brien.
That action saw Hartley receive a six-week ban, meaning he hasn't played since receiving that red card on December 17 leading into the Six Nations.
Even still, Gatland is undeterred by the Rotorua-born hooker's actions.
"If Dylan Hartley leads England to another Grand Slam that could sway it," said Gatland.
"Dylan has done a great job with his leadership with England. The sending-off looked like frustration to me. But Dylan has to contend with pressure, too, that of Jamie George pushing for his place [in the England team]."
The Lions head down to their 10-match tour of New Zealand in June, with their first Test coming on June 24 in Eden Park.
July 1 will see the second Test take place at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, before the tour returns to Eden Park, where the All Blacks are undefeated in 37 matches since 1994, for the third Test a week later on July 8.
England have yet to lose a Test match under Eddie Jones and went through the calendar year of 2016 completely undefeated, something Gatland said is a positive for the Lions ahead of the tour.
"The best thing is to have a strong England for the simple reason that all the other countries will be gunning for them, looking to knock them over, and so England will have to cope with that as well deal with the pressure of expectation that is on them as Grand Slam champions and on this long run of successive wins," he said.
"A Lions tour is about pressure, of all sorts, and particular in the Test series, finding a way to come out on top.
"The players from the other countries will be absolutely up for it, busting a gut to put one over on England because the rewards for doing so are going to be massive, in the tournament itself and potentially for the Lions selection.
"I want to see how they go at England and how England respond. I want pressure to bring the out of them all. I want those players to front up. I want the English players to front up. And if they do come through it all, yes, that is good for the Lions."
