ENGLAND hooker and ex-Warriors academy prospect Dylan Hartley made the case for “getting rid of artificial pitches” having sustained the injury that ended his World Cup dream at Sixways.

Hartley, 33, accepts the knee problem picked up in Northampton’s trip to Worcester in December will deny him the “fairytale” ending to a career that featured 97 caps and Six Nations titles in 2016 and 2017.

Omitted from Eddie Jones’s 31-man squad which jetted out to Japan this week, Hartley acknowledged that could be it for a glittering international career with the manner in which it happened fresh in his mind.

“I don’t agree with them,” he said.

“I’d played the fortnight before and tweaked my knee in a game, then I played on an artificial pitch the following week and probably playing on an injury didn’t help.

"If there’s a platform to show my support for getting rid of artificial pitches, it’s here. It might be suited to under-10s or under-12s but from a personal point of view I don’t like them.”

“I tried a very aggressive approach because I was given some deadlines and ended up in a worse position. I can understand why there were deadlines, the team needed to prepare.

“I had a frank conversation with Eddie and the staff at Northampton and we agreed a long-term approach is best.

“Around the start of the camps I tried getting back and basically put myself in a bit of a hole. When the squad was announced it was almost like I had died, friends getting in touch to see if I was okay.

“There are no assurances with Eddie Jones and I don’t think there should be,” Hartley, who started off in the academy at Worcester, added.

“Why should a player, any player, have that? It’s an environment where no one is comfortable because of the strength in depth we have in England.

“I keep hoping that it isn’t done. But not everyone can have the fairytale ending. Richie McCaw held up the World Cup in his last game. Well not everyone has that.

“That’s sport, that’s life. The good thing is it’s not done for me just yet. I still want to play. I’m still competitive, just not fast.

“Big picture, the way I looked at my whole rugby career and how I wanted it to pan out, was that this would have been the ultimate send-off, the dream finish to an international career.

“For four years we’ve talked about winning the World Cup with Eddie and I’ve led that group, been a part of that journey. So to fall at the final hurdle...  I don’t know the feeling.

“I wake up most nights thinking about it. It doesn’t sit well with me.”

Warriors declined to comment.