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Robshaw not sure to remain England captain, says 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.
England's autumn internationals
- 10 November: v Fiji
- 17 November: v Australia
- 24 November: v South Africa
- 1 December: v New Zealand
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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Comment number 76.
Sanchez2127th September 2012 - 19:28
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.
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Comment number 75.
Sarnian7627th September 2012 - 15:39
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.
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Comment number 74.
Sarnian7627th September 2012 - 15:29
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.
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Comment number 73.
Sarnian7627th September 2012 - 15:13
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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Comment number 72.
GM Massingbird27th September 2012 - 14:09
I think Richard Hill could have been a Premiership Lock, Outside Centre or Winger.
He was the top 1 blindside in the world in the years either side of the milenium at a time when Aus were using Phil Waugh and NZ were going with the average Rueben Thorne. A guarenteed starter in any world XV a strong contender for the all time team.
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