DCSIMG

Skipper Robshaw not sure of place

Linda Dawson

Linda Dawson


Published on Thursday 2 February 2012 15:00

Everything we hear suggests Tom Wood would have led the team out at Murrayfield if he had been fit, which makes it difficult to look too far down the line with Chris Robshaw.

There will be those in Northampton who would have backed Dylan Hartley’s canditature. But I think Dylan can now concentrate on the most important thing and that is establishing himself as No. 1 hooker for England. It is an enormous opportunity with Steve Thompson out of the picture now to get a long run of Test caps right up to the next World Cup.

The reality is he was not first choice at the World Cup. Whatever forwards coach Graham Rowntree thought in New Zealand he and the rest of the management felt Thompson was their best option. I am not privy to the conversation Dylan would have had with Rowntree, but I suspect there would be areas they would like him to think about, he is still very young and we can forget that sometimes. It said a lot about the man that he was the first person to give Robshaw a big hug and say well done.

If it was up to me I would have given the captaincy to Tom Croft. I am not entirely sure it is right to pile pressure on Robshaw as well as playing in his first ever big Test match (his one cap came against Argentina). I am a little bit surprised Lancaster didn’t take the more conservative and easier option to give the captaincy to one of his certain starters, who has a good clutch of caps.

And the big problem with Robshaw is that when Wood is fit he may well not even be in the side. I hope for him and England he is because that would mean they are playing well, but with a fully fit squad would Robshaw be in the side? It seems they don’t want to go with the experiment of playing Robshaw at eight so when Wood comes back will he stay in the side?

We are hearing Phil Dowson has been training at No. 8 this week and I think it is the right choice. He has played in big games for Saints and when the fires are burning at their sharpest in Edinburgh you need somebody to calm things down. Dowson taking out his mouthguard and laying down a few harsh truths will be a reassuring sight. It is to his advantage he is not up against a Imanol Harinordoquy, he is up against someone who has played only one more Test than he has. Having said that Dave Denton was really close to Scotland’s World Cup squad and they have really high hopes for him. He is 6ft 5in and over 18st, so Dowson will have to clock on for a full shift.

But it is not a bad opposite number to have on your Test debut. Dowson has a real opportunity against a ‘greenhorn’ to show he should have been picked years ago.

If I was part of the England coaching team I would be frustrated by the level of negativity from some of the national papers. We are in danger of convincing ourselves that Scotland are the All Blacks.

They might nearly have beaten a very poor England in the World Cup but it is hard to recall too many cracking Scottish performances.

England are inexperienced and if it is about Test caps, Scotland have 499 to England’s potential. But it is an interesting exercise to see who you would pick out of the two XVs in a joint side and I would pick more England players than Scottish.


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Saturday 26 May 2012

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