The 24-year-old scored his first international try after the break but was also lucky to avoid disciplinary action after an ugly challenge on All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.

But Hartley, who missed the summer tour win over the Wallabies, said: “Hookers are confrontational people.

“You are in the thick of the action so you’ve got to have an edge about you and it’s an aspect of the game I enjoy.

“We don’t take a backwards step. I don’t think you will ever take that away from me. I certainly wouldn’t be playing in the front row as a hooker if you did.

“Every week you go out to be dominant in the set piece because that is the foundations of how you play the game.

“The Australians do things differently to the All Blacks. There are things we have identified.

“We have done more live scrummaging this year, practicing things that opposing teams might try to do at the weekend and dealing with that.”