Joe Marler... Harlequins New Captain!

England prop Joe Marler will captain Harlequins for the 2014-15 season replacing Chris Robshaw in the role.

Robshaw has captained Harlequins for the past four seasons but Conor O'Shea felt the time was right to relieve some of the pressures of being captain of both club and country. With the World Cup just over a year away, he has opted to give the captaincy of Harlequins to Marler.

"I am delighted that Joe has agreed to take over the captaincy from Chris," Harlequins boss O'Shea said. "He is a massively influential player and person within the group and will bring his own personality and style to the role, with the full backing of the entire squad and management. It is hard to believe that at just 24, Joe has already played over 100 times for the club and become a cornerstone of the England pack.

"With regards to Chris, I have been speaking to him about the dual role of captaining both England and Harlequins for some time. He has a massive year ahead of him and I feel that we should relieve him of some of the pressure, which will allow him to focus on being at his best for both club and country.

"We are extremely grateful to Chris for the four seasons that he captained the club, of which three were spent captaining both Harlequins and England. We want him to be at his best for Harlequins, win trophies here and also lift the World Cup next year. To do so we believe he needs to be fresh both mentally and physically, hence why we have made this decision now."

Marler, 24, will be one of the youngest club captains in Premiership history but despite his relatively tender years, he has already made over 100 appearances for Harlequins alongside his 22 England caps.

"Firstly I want to pay tribute to how well Chris has done over the last four years, leading us through the most successful period we have had as a club," Marler said. "It will be good to be able to take the pressure off him as he heads into a huge year with England. I'm really honoured to be asked to lead a special group like this and a great club, and I can't wait to get stuck in!"

Congratulations to @JoeMarler - the start of a hugely exciting chapter for both Joe and the club
— Harlequins (@QuinsRugbyUnion) August 4, 2014

And of course thanks to @ChrisRobshaw for his service over 4 hugely successful years. A big 15 months ahead for him for club and country
— Harlequins (@QuinsRugbyUnion) August 4, 2014

Scrumpy wrote:I see he picked up a needless yellow card then!

Ozzy3213 wrote:Agree with your assessment there Poorfour.  It didn't look malicious or particularly aggressive and was the sort of card anyone could have picked up.

What I did feel watching the game though, was that it was still Robshaw and to an extent Easter who were leading the side.  Marler may be captain, but those guys were the ones who lead you through a few tough periods in the game.

Scrumpy wrote:As much as I rate Easter I don't think he'll ever pull on the Red Rose again, no matter how desperate England get.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Agree with your assessment there Poorfour.  It didn't look malicious or particularly aggressive and was the sort of card anyone could have picked up.

What I did feel watching the game though, was that it was still Robshaw and to an extent Easter who were leading the side.  Marler may be captain, but those guys were the ones who lead you through a few tough periods in the game.