A year ago Dylan Hartley was doing pre-season work with Northampton wondering if he would play international rugby again having been left out of England’s World Cup squad following a fifth suspension in three years. As he joins the Saints’ training camp in France on Wednesday he is being tipped as a contender to captain the Lions in his native New Zealand next year, having led to the grand slam and a series whitewash in Australia.

Hartley, speaking after modelling England’s new kit which was launched at Twickenham, is reluctant to peer too far into the future after a career in which triumph has too often been followed by a setback. He is looking no further than England’s opening match of their autumn international series against South Africa at Twickenham, opponents they have not beaten for 10 years.

“Most players are aware that there is a Lions tour next year and, having spent three weeks on holiday in New Zealand this summer, I know how excited they are by the series,” said Hartley. “How do you get to be picked by the Lions? You play well for your country. How do you get to play for your country? You play well for your club. How do you get to play for your club? You train hard in pre-season and start the campaign well.

“I have to do that and hope Eddie [Jones, the England head coach] sees my hand up, come November. The Lions is a bonus at the end of a good season for a player. I am aware I have been mentioned as a contender for the captaincy but I am only judged by my next game for England and I have to make sure I am in the team to face South Africa.

“Being captain of the Lions is not something I set out to achieve. I am just happy with where I am at the moment, focusing on club and country.”

Hartley missed the last Lions tour, to Australia in 2013, because of another ban having been sent off

in the Premiership final against Leicester . The squad that year was made up largely of Welsh and Irish players, as it had been four years before but England will be more significantly represented in New Zealand unless the gains they have made since the World Cup melt away in the coming season.

“We spent a few days in camp this week and there is no looking back,” said Hartley. “It is all about the future and how we can improve as players and as a team. The message from Eddie before we left was to go back to our clubs and play well so that when the coaches came to watch, they could see the best players on the pitch were England ones.

“We all have to be ready to buy into the next phase of this team. As players we have to focus on ourselves: the power is in our hands. Play well for your club and you will be noticed. The coaches have put the onus on the players to each get better by a few per cent in different areas. That will add up and help us improve. For some that will involve skill extras or body composition issues and for others it will be passing off their left hand or tackle technique.”

England play South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia at Twickenham in the autumn. Four wins would equal their record of 14 consecutive Test victories. “There is no record to go for unless we win the first game, which is why we cannot look beyond South Africa, a team I and the rest of the guys have never tasted victory against,” said Hartley. “Before that is the start of the Premiership season and I want to help Northampton do well after we underachieved last year. The league is more open than ever.”