England's hooker - Thompson-v-Hartley

As an interested but disinterested (if you get my drift) viewer today, I was wondering who English fans think should start as your hooker. I must say that I think Steve Thompson seems to have the edge as the scrum seems more solid (one disaster excepted today) and is less likely to pop up with him in it, his line-out throiwng seems to be fine and he is less unpredictable in his general actions and unlikely to concede too many penalties. BUT it looks like Greggs have opened up a new shop near his house and they have an "all you can eat for £5" offer on every day. He was blowing heavily through his exhaust pipe a bit quite early on today.
Come the game agaisnt Scotland, i would like to see Hartley play as I think he can easily be wound up (Hines will probably relish that role) and could cost you.
And is "who do you think should start" a totally different question from "who will start"?

It's been a while since Hartley lost it on the field. Being given the Northampton captaincy seems to have made him mature a bit.

I'd prefer to see Thompson start for us right now and Hartley can come on and inject a bit of pace late in the game. Thompson and Cole seems a pretty destructive partnership in the scrums (see Aus away twice in 2010 and then the last couple of games this summer).

I must confess that i don't know massive amounts about Hartley and I only ever see the few games that Northampton are on Sky but is he nippy round the park or is the extra pace you mention just from bringing a fresh pair of legs on after 50/60 mins?

Thompson really got stuck in today and was a general pain in the backside and should start it was also nice to see tha pack have a bit of edge about them which they have been lacking for a while

InjuredYetAgain wrote:I must confess that i don't know massive amounts about Hartley and I only ever see the few games that Northampton are on Sky but is he nippy round the park or is the extra pace you mention just from bringing a fresh pair of legs on after 50/60 mins?

He's no Schalk Brits but he's got a decent amount of pace for a hooker.

Depends on the opposition and the game plan. I prefer Hartley overall, but if England are going to play the way I suspect (looks like we're settling into our more conventional style), Thompson should and probably will start.