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'Time is now for England' - Hartley

Cape Town - England captain Dylan Hartley believes that his team have a good opportunity to win their first ever three-match Test series in Australia.

With less than a week to go until the two nations do battle at Suncorp Stadium on June 11 the excitement is starting to build.

Hartley is adamant that England can make some history by winning a first-ever series on Australian soil.

"Why can't we win the series? What's the point in going if we don't want to win it?,” said Hartley.

"We've never won so it's a huge opportunity for us. I don't think there's any harm in saying we want to win the series, because what's the point in touring otherwise.

"This isn't just a make up the numbers game at the end of the season, we want to go down and challenge them."

Hartley added that the team is growing in confidence and every player in the squad is pulling their weight.

"The strength in depth we have is brilliant and we showed that against a star-studded Welsh team. There was a perception that we had a weakened team, but I was confident we could win,” explained Hartley.

"It was the first of four games for us and we're keen to go and make some history in Australia. It's an opportunity.

"Beating Wales keeps us in fourth place in the rankings, with Australia at number two. We want to be in the top one or two in the world.

"History tells us we've never won a series out in Australia so that's a big carrot for us."

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