Robshaw to keep captaincy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17042752

I'm surprised there hadn't already been a thread about this.

What do people think of it? Good decision? I think he's done a pretty good job so far, tackling very well and making some hard carries (which the statisticians don't appear to have been watching), and will only get better.

The question is what does this mean for selection when Wood comes back? Will they just leave him out, or does this mean they might drop Croft or move Robshaw to 8?

I think it is a good decision. I think he should stay at 7 also. Let him grow into the role. I feel he has really worked hard and has tried to get England on the front foot. He deserves it. Bring Morgan in at 8, and then it is only the 6 position that needs sorted. Either that, or move Robshaw to 6 and bring in one of the young 7s like Kvesic over the next few years. But for now, I would leave Robshaw at 7.

thomh

I have to say that I am surprised that you would ask such questions. Robshaw to continue was an obvious decision hence no other threads.

If Wood comes back match fit by the end of the 6N Robshaw might go to 6 in place of Croft to accommodate Wood at 7. Robshaw is unlikely to go to 8 where Morgan is about to do very well.

Triangulation

To my mind it was an obvious decision, but there seems to be a general assumption that Wood was the preferred choice for captain, and that Robshaw would lose it the moment he came back.

I agree on Morgan, but there has also been a worrying idea going round that we should pick a back row of Croft, Wood, Robshaw. I think Mick Cleary at the Telegraph even said something like "Robshaw is the third best 8 at his club, and yet that is where they must play him." Bizarre.

In any case, even if this isn't particularly surprising news, it would still be interesting to see what people have to say about him and the back row in general on its own thread.

No one has really put their hand up as a leader on the pitch and Robshaw has been doing ok so there's really no point in changing the captaincy for the sake of it. Might as well let him lead England for a bit longer there is currently bigger concerns for the England team.

see what people have to say about him and the back row in general on its own thread.

Add more ball carrying ability to the backrow in the form of Morgan and it will be doing good. The second row is the area of the pack that needs tweaking and then there is the mess behind it that needs sorting.

thomh

To be honest there have been a million threads on here over the last few weeks dedicated to rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic that is our back row. Until we get an out and out scavenging 7 that is all this discussion is. If Wood is that man then great. If not then he'll do at 7 as the best we have until we find the answer.

Wood is no scavenging 7. He is a rangy flanker in the mould of Juan Smith. He could maybe do with bulking up a bit I feel, and Robshaw could maybe do with losing a few pounds and working on his pace, and getting to the breakdown first off the first phase.

Robshaw is currently doing a very admirable job at openside for England. However he is naturally a blindside and I very much expect him to move over to the blindside post six nations. He has all the attributes of a world-class blindside - huge work-rate, hard tackler, lots of grafting, ball carrier, link-man and leadership. However falls short as an openside - due to lack of pace and ability to turnover ball at the breakdown like an out and out openside.

Rory_Gallagher wrote: Robshaw could maybe do with losing a few pounds and working on his pace, and getting to the breakdown first off the first phase.

Interesting that you say that, because I think he looks as though he has lost weight recently. Compared to a few seasons ago, he looks to have trimmed down by a few kg.

He's done better than I expected as captain and feel he deserves to continue in the role until the 6N are complete. I'm another who would prefer him to move over to 6 once Wood is fit and battle for the shirt with Croft as I feel Wood is the better openside than Robshaw.

I thought he had lost some weight as well. I still think he could do with working on his pace though, not necessarily his top speed but his acceleration from a standing start.

One of either Croft or Robshaw needs to go, the commentators can't tell them apart and we'll just end up with Croftshaw.

Have said it before and will do so again. England need a balanced back row, and at present are far from this. Selection should not be about just squeezing your three best backrowers into the team. They need to work as a unit. It is fortunate that we have three good sixes to choose from, but we should only be playing one of them at a time. If one gets injured we have good backup.

For me we need:
6. Robshaw
7. Armitage
8. Morgan.

Now that is a balanced backrow.