THERE has been plenty of debate on the pros and cons of the England captain relinquishing the reins at his club. For all the excitement attached to the opening weekend of a new domestic season, our minds apparently cannot help but fast-forward a year to the World Cup.
Recent giants of the game such as John Smit, the 2007 World Cup-winning captain of South Africa and Lawrence Dallaglio, a 2003 World Cup winner and one of the great captains of modern times, both think Conor O’Shea’s decision is the wrong one — from England’s perspective. O’Shea defends the decision to replace Chris Robshaw with Joe Marler as an act that will ease the pressure and therefore freshen the performances of the flanker when he wears the red rose. The reality is that O’Shea’s first responsibility is to his employers. Harlequins winning the Premiership means more to the Limerick-born director of rugby and his Harlequins board than England lifting the William Webb Ellis trophy on October 31, 2015.
The long-term implications for the national captain are irrelevant and the opinion of distinguished ex-captains is little more than an irritant if Harlequins have more chance of winning trophies with another man in charge.
The debate is of interest in its own right. Robshaw’s response to the opinions of Smit and Dallaglio is that men such as Richie McCaw, Sam Warburton and Paul O’Connell captain their countries without the encumbrance of the weekly responsibilities of leading their regular teams.
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In a recent interview in his capacity as an ambassador for some company or other, Robshaw said the role of the captain and the nature of the game have changed. The implication was that the views of these two World Cup winners were antiquated.
Players and coaches love to say the game is changing faster than it ever has. Yes, the outward form of the game changes, but the essence remains the same. Matches are won by the team who score the higher number of points and there remain a limited number of ways of scoring them.
Good decision making is as important now as it was when Dallaglio and Smith captained teams. The game has fitted itself to a new shape and there are many decision makers on the field — but the captain’s voice is the final one when deciding when to kick for goal or touch, when to light that touch paper with an inspiring word, when to stamp his authority in the myriad different ways of captains.
Even if the essence of the game and captaincy has not changed as much as some players and coaches think, what is the concern with Robshaw taking a time-out at Harlequins? The England captain cites an identical situation to McCaw and Warburton. But not all national captains are in the same stage of their captaincy career.
Dallaglio and Smith describe captaincy as an art and, as with all arts, time and effort have to be expended to master it. McCaw has done that. O’Connell has the presence within the camp, as does Warburton, who appears to be a natural leader.
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Robshaw has done a remarkable job as a “follow me” captain. Even though he has captained his country on 27 occasions, I think the media in general underrate him as a player. But as a captain he is not the finished article.
In the summer he captained an England team who lost all their tactical shape in the second Test against New Zealand. To say he will improve his captaincy by doing less of it is counter-intuitive. Dallaglio and Smit have the stronger argument.
As for Robshaw’s club, Joe Marler might emerge as an outstanding captain in his own right. The press will love him. In an age of conformity his quick wit and independence of thought will win him friends. The loosehead is at home in a press conference. Matches are not won behind the long table but friends can be made and time bought.
On the field the man from Eastbourne has progressed impressively. The mohawk has disappeared but 24-year-old Marler will not shrink from a confrontation.
In his physical way Marler will lead from the front. He will also develop a decent oratorical line or two. Even the daftest old props have an edge of cunning and the England loosehead is definitely not daft. The fans will fall for his stridency as well. This decision looks a good one for Quins.
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And it will almost certainly will be of benefit to Marler’s performances as an international. If he is guilty of anything it is the occasional loss of focus. Captaincy will tighten up that element of his game. Whether Robshaw will suffer from the loss of captaincy will doubtless be revisited in the months ahead but keep an eye on Marler. He has the potential to become an excellent captain.