Robshaw not sure to remain England captain, says Lancaster

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Chris Robshaw with Stuart Lancaster

Chris Robshaw is not guaranteed to be England captain for the autumn internationals, head coach Stuart Lancaster has revealed.

The flanker gained credit for the way he led England during the Six Nations and summer tour to South Africa.

"We haven't decided on the captain yet," Lancaster told BBC Sport.

He plans to assess the form and fitness of players when the squad meets at the end of October, but admitted Robshaw had "done a fantastic job".

England open their autumn campaign at Twickenham against Fiji on 10 November, before tackling Australia, South Africa and world champions New Zealand on successive Saturdays.

Under the leadership of Harlequins skipper Robshaw, England won four of their five matches in the Six Nations, finishing second in the table.

They then lost their summer series against South Africa 2-0, but Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley captained the side for the last Test, a 14-14 draw in Port Elizabeth, because Robshaw had broken his thumb.

Lancaster thinks it is "too early" to make a decision on the captaincy but added Robshaw would be a strong contender, as would Hartley.

"If you look at the performance of the third Test, while Chris was missed on the field, Dylan did a fantastic job captaining the side," said Lancaster.

"We got a performance out of the team in what was a challenging situation to make sure we finished the tour strongly, on the back of a long hard season for English rugby. That was credit to Dylan and also the rest of the players who played in that team."

Lancaster added: "I wouldn't say the captaincy is overplayed - being England captain is a big job - but a strong leadership group is equally important. If you've got a fantastic captain but you haven't got someone who can run the game from 10 or run a line-out, you can forget it."

Lancaster, appointed as the permanent head coach in March and with a contract until the 2015 World Cup, is confident his work off the pitch will be rewarded with continued improvement.

"We've got a good group and we see the autumn internationals as a key staging point," said the former Leeds Carnegie director of rugby.

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76 comments

  • Dylan Hartley - Penalty machine.

    Robshaw has done well as captain IMO, be silly to appoint a new captain now.

  • Another reason to like Lancaster more and more.Such a sensible decision and should be employed in exactly the same way for the football team.

    You pick your best squad, then your best team and then you decide who is the best leader out of that 15. Do that on a game by game basis or a tournament by tournament basis.

    It seems SA have looked shoddy so far, could be looking at 3 wins this Autumn

  • Pick your best XV then appoint a skipper from that group of players.

    Croft, if fit, must start at 6, and you really can't have a non specialist 7 at this level of the game. As good as Robshaw is, he's not the first pick in his specialist position. No point trying to shoehorn people into a team to accommodate certain players. Look what happened to the football side over the last 10 years.

  • Never a bad idea to keep the players on their toes when it comes to selection/who'll be Captain - as long as they players know what is expecting from them tactically on the field (& behaviour standards wise off the park) then a bit of suspense can keep players motivated.

  • Ferris fish hooked him, and then screamed foul, might as well have been playing for man utd. If your arms are trapped and someone's trying to rip your cheek out you can't do much else. All sides would obviously target Hartley for the wind up, ferris has been involved in so many incidents he has history, and although he's taken a few shots,in my experience there's usually an unseen reason for that.

  • Of course Robshaw will be captain. However let's not forget that Tom Wood was captain in waiting until an unfortunate string of injuries. Wouldnt be surprised if the back row was Wood, Robshaw and Morgan with Croft on the bench.

    As for Hartley, not a world class leader but the best hooker we have at the moment. Needs to watch himself though as there are a few coming through (youngs etc)

  • I reckon now that Tom Wood is back he will also come into the equation, I just cannot see Hartley getting the job. If Robshaw is not a certainty to make the matchday 15 then for sure England need a new leader and yes Hartley is a certainty at the moment but he is a penalty machine and therefore not a great choice. I think England just do not have enough guys with 50 plus caps at the moment

  • The Beeb's rugby coverage is always Welsh-centric.... It always amuses me the lack of coverage that Quins receive, unless of course Mr Care i being naughty. It was classic a couple of weeks ago when the main headline was 'Leiceter continue perfect start' - erm, so did Quins, and they were at the top of the table on points. It would be interesting to know the BBc's policy, as there seems a bias....

  • @48 one assumes you are not a quins season ticket holder like myself. Then you'd realise Robshaw is a quality 7. Most turnovers come from the England captian who plays 7 for his club and workrate is head and shoulders above any other member of the quins team

  • I have to agree Hill was the best backrower in the world. I understand he spent most of his time at 6 but when he played 7 he slipped right in. Its a fact that whilst he was on the pitch for the Lions he never lost. He came off in the second test against the wallabies after being targeted and taken out and as a result George Smith could get a foothold. Its no coincidence we lost the series

  • I saw Robshaw play at Tigers and thought he was one o the outstanding players on the field. Those who doubt his ability to be effective at the highest level as a number 7 can rest easy. As I left Welford Road I was remarking just how often Robshaw was interfering with play from an offside position, or seeming to go in at the side but always getting away with it....sounds like a 7 to me.

  • Wirral, Agree mostly with the Captain Logic, though I do think that the captain should be the best leader who is also guarenteed to be in the starting XV barring injury for the next 2 series of matches. When you appoint a captain you almost make that guarentee to him.

    About the 3 wins, don't count your chickens, 2 would be acceptable.

  • Back row is going to be interesting. There's Robshaw, Wood, Haskell, Johnson, Croft and also Nick Easter playing out of his skin for Quins. If all are fit at the same time Lancaster's going to have to make some tough choices.

  • An old trick of rugby pros used to be to put their finger in your mouth and pull against your cheek until it splits open, forcing you to go off for stitches.

    If you were at the bottom of a ruck, unable to move your arms and somebody put their finger in your mouth might you give it a bit of a nip?

  • I think it's smart comments from lancaster. Other than World Cups, Woodward never appointed Johnson captain on more than a game by game basis. Ok, we all knew he was always going to be Captain, but he always announced him as captain when he announced the team. Robshaw will be captain, he should be captain, Lancaster is just making sure the squad stays on its toes.

  • @3 Biting, did you see the incident? Neither did anyone else, the only proof they have is a picture of a ruck... I think either of these guys will work well, the only problem is now, we don't really have any leaders in the backs

  • The comments here saying Robshaw is currently playing the best rugby in England at 7 is correct. That's mostly because Wood is coming back from injury, Armitage is in France and there is a lack of quality open-sides in the Premiership. Robshaw would be fourth choice as a Lions open-side, that's how little quality we have there. Pocock, McCaw, Warburton, Tipuric are all a level above Robshaw.

  • 75 Continued
    Robshaw IS more of a 7 than Wood. Wood is being picked by all the armchair message board fans (of which I am one) based on a hot streak in early 2011. He wore and wears 7 but plays more like a 6. He is not a classical 7. I rate Wood, massively physical and great line out skills, great presence. Its Wood versus Croft for the 6 slot.

    WC15 6)Wood 7)Robshaw 8)Morgan 19)Croft.
    Simples.

  • 74. Continued.
    His work rate is phenomenal. His attitude to training was praised by players in the WC2011 leaked report. Another post mentions that walsh has praised his fetching, again its perception, walsh is likely to tell his mates, which will change their perception even before kickoff and we (england) might start getting the leeway and marginal calls that typically favour NZ.

  • Its all about perception and players being labelled. Robshaw has been labelled incorrectly ''not a 7'' by the media. He is the best 7 in England. Look at his stats and performances in the 6N. He IS a fetcher - look at his stats for number of steals and recycles. He IS a tackler - tops tackle counts. He IS a traditionally linking 7, see premiership final.



    He is more of a 7 than Moody ever was

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