Hartley makes successful return for Saints

5:54 PM GMT

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  Tom HamiltonRugby Editor

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  • Joined ESPN in 2011
  • Grew up in Bath but has New Zealand roots
  • Covered England for the past two seasons, including their tour to New Zealand
  • Was ESPN's man on the ground for the 2013 British & Irish Lions series

England captain Dylan Hartley played 16 minutes on his return to the field for Northampton Saints after recovering from concussion.

Hartley was knocked out in England's Grand Slam-clinching victory against France on Mar. 19 and has been sidelined since as he went through to the requisite return-to-play protocols.

It was Hartley's second spell out with concussion this season after he missed six weeks following a head knock in November.

But he made his return to the field on Saturday in Northampton's 28-20 victory over Gloucester. He played the final 16 minutes as a replacement for Mike Haywood as he looks to get essential game time under his belt before England journey to Australia for their three-Test tour.

An honour and privilege to play with this man. Absolute gentleman of the game @VictorMatfield http://pic.twitter.com/MvI0Rd3Wsg

— Dylan Hartley (@DylanHartley) May 7, 2016

England will have a training camp next week in Brighton for those players who are not involved in the end-of-season trophy battles meaning players from Harlequins and Saracens will not be included as they both play in Europe finals next weekend.

Before England travel to Australia, they face a one-off Test against Wales at Twickenham on May 29, the day after the Aviva Premiership final. With Northampton's season at an end, Hartley will look to feature in that match before attention then switches to the Wallabies.

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Hartley makes successful return for Saints