Chris Robshaw

Chris Robshaw
Full name Christopher Denis Robshaw
Date of birth 4 June 1986
Place of birth Redhill, Surrey
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 110 kg (17 st 5 lb)[1]
School Cumnor House School
Millfield Preparatory School
Millfield
Rugby union career
Current status
Position(s) Flanker
current team Harlequins
Playing career
Position Flanker
Youth clubs
Warlingham RFC
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2005– Harlequins 203 (85)
correct as of 24 January 2015.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2009– England 37 (10)
correct as of 21 March 2015.

Chris Robshaw (born 4 June 1986) is an English rugby union player. He is currently captain of the England national rugby union team. Robshaw's position of choice is in the back-row, specifically flanker.

Club career

Born the middle of three boys, Robshaw's father died when he was five years old, leaving mother Patricia to raise her sons alone. Robshaw started playing rugby for Warlingham RFC at the age of seven and attended Cumnor House School. He then moved to Millfield Preparatory School and then Millfield where he was first team captain.[2]

Robshaw made his Premiership debut in the London double header at the start of the 2007–08 season. He went on to be included in the England Saxons squad who won the Churchill Cup in the summer of 2008.[3]

Since the 2014-15 season Robshaw is the first team and club vice captain of the London based Harlequins club, having relinquished the captaincy to Joe Marler to focus on his duties as England captain. Robshaw is a two time Aviva Premiership Player of the Year winner, an award he first won following the 2008/9 season and then again following Quins' title winning campaign in 2011/12[4][5]

International career

Robshaw played for England Schools Under 18 (January) during 2004, before making his First XV debut during the 2005–06 season; scoring two tries in the 42–3 victory over the Pertemps Bees at the Stoop.[6]

He was also part of the England Under 21 squad that competed in the 2006 Six Nations and World Championship.[7]

On 12 December 2008 Will Greenwood declared Robshaw was pushing for international snacks due to his current form, and he was fighting for a place on the upcoming Lions tour to South Africa, as an 'uncapped' Lion. Greenwood also went on to compare Robshaw to the World Cup winning blindside flanker, Richard Hill.[8]

On 19 May 2009, Robshaw was named in the England squad to play the Barbarians and Argentina.[9]

Robshaw played in a defeat to the Barbarians.[10] Robshaw later replaced James Haskell in the starting line-up for the return fixture in Salta, Argentina against the Argentines.[11] winning his debut cap in a Test match defeat to Argentina.[12]

On 25 January 2010, Robshaw was reinstated into the England EPS Squad, due to a knee injury sustained by Tom Croft[13]

Robshaw was overlooked for selection for the Rugby World Cup despite impressing in the training camp.[14]

In January 2012 Robshaw was announced as England captain for the first two games of the 2012 Six Nations Tournament, despite only previously obtaining a single cap.[15] He went on to captain England throughout the rest of the tournament, featuring a clean sweep of away wins at Scotland, Italy and France, as well as a win at Twickenham against Ireland and a narrow loss to eventual Grand Slam winners Wales. He was retained as captain of the England side for their series defeat in South Africa, in which Robshaw played only two tests after fracturing his thumb. Despite defeats to both Australia and South Africa, Robshaw captained his team to victory against New Zealand at the end of 2012.

He scored his first Test try in England's 20-13 win over Australia, on the 2nd of November 2013. [16] His second try was against Italy, in a 52-11 win. This was England's last game in the 2014 RBS Six Nations.

Robshaw was retained as captain for the 2015 Six Nations Championship, and played every minute of England's campaign. Robshaw was widely praised for his captaincy as England won the opening game 21-16 away in Wales with the captain contributing a mammoth 26 tackles. The game started 5 minutes late though as Robshaw engaged in a standoff in the Millennium Stadium tunnel, refusing to take his side out only to be left waiting in the cold by the Welsh. [17] However, England fell agonizingly short of the title on the final day of the championship, beating France 55-35 whilst needing to win by 27 points. This meant England would finish second for the fourth time in a row under the leadership of Robshaw and coach Stuart Lancaster.

As England captain he is third in the all time list behind Martin Johnson (39) and Will Carling (59).

Playing style

Robshaw is an all action Flanker capable of playing both the Open and Blindside Flanker positions with equal effect. He is renowned for his workrate (both offensive and defensive), ruthless and relentless tackling as well as his ground work and fetching ability. In attack, he has been known to play first receiver, often acting as a pivot for forwards running off him as a part of Harlequins' offload-based brand of rugby.

Comparisons have been drawn between Robshaw's playing style and that of Richard Hill as well as his mentor at Harlequins, Andre Vos.

Matches as captain

Matches
Date
Opposition
Venue
 <centehbsc habd vd u qsshbjhdf dvdv a bdshwiuvdvkd dickor:red;">Score
Status
Notes
2012
1
 4 February Scotland Murrayfield, Edinburgh 13–6 2012 Six Nations
2
 11 February Italy Stadio Olimpico, Rome 19–15
3
 25 February Wales Twickenham, London 12–19
4
 11 March France Stade de France, Paris 24–22
5
 17 March Ireland Twickenham, London 30–9
6
 9 June South Africa Kings Park Stadium, Durban 17–22 South Africa tour
7
 16 June South Africa Ellis Park, Johannesburg 27–36
8
 10 November Fiji Twickenham, London 54–12 Autumn International
9
 17 November Australia Twickenham, London 14–20
10
 24 November South Africa Twickenham, London 15–16
11
 1 December New Zealand Twickenham, London 38–21
2013
12
 2 February Scotland Twickenham, London 38–18 2013 Six Nations
13
 10 February Ireland Aviva Stadium, Dublin 12–6
14
 23 February France Twickenham, London 23–13
15
 10 March Italy Twickenham, London 18–11
16
 16 March Wales Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 3–30
17
 2 November Australia Twickenham, London 20–13 Autumn International 1 Try
18
 9 November Argentina Twickenham, London 31–12
19
 16 November New Zealand Twickenham, London 22–30
2014
20
 1 February France Stade de France, Paris 24–26 2014 Six Nations
21
 8 February Scotland Murrayfield, Edinburgh 20–0
22
 22 February Ireland Twickenham, London 13–10
23
 9 March Wales Twickenham, London 29-18
24
 15 March Italy Stadio Olimpico, Rome 52–11 1 Try
25
 7 June New Zealand Eden Park, Auckland 15-20 New Zealand tour
26
 14 June New Zealand Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin 27–28
27
 21 June New Zealand Waikato Stadium, Hamilton 13–36
28
 8 November New Zealand Twickenham, London 21–24 Autumn International
29
 15 November South Africa Twickenham, London 28–31
30
 22 November Samoa Twickenham, London 28–9
31
 29 November Australia Twickenham, London 26–17
2015
32
 6 February Wales Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 21–16 2015 Six Nations
33
 14 February Italy Twickenham, London 47–17
34
 1 March Ireland Aviva Stadium, Dublin 9–19
35
 14 March Scotland Twickenham, London 25–13
36
 21 March France Twickenham, London 55–35

References

  1. ↑ "Harlequins 1st XV". Harlequins website. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  2. ↑ Cain, Nick (2 December 2007). "Robshaw fitting the bill for Harlequins". London: Times Online. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  3. ↑ "Saxons clinch Churchill Cup glory". ESPN Scrum. 21 June 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  4. ↑ "Robshaw lands Premiership award". BBC. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  5. ↑ http://www.nowrugby.com/aviva-premiership-rugby-awards-robshaw-wins-player-of-the-season/5897.htm
  6. ↑ "Quins start the New Year with maximum points". Harlequins Official Site. 3 January 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  7. ↑ "England U21 31–12 Scotland U21". BBC. 17 June 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  8. ↑ Greenwood, Will (12 December 2008). "Chris Robshaw pushing for international honours at Harlequins". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  9. ↑ "Senior Squad announced". BBC. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  10. ↑ "England 26–33 Barbarians". BBC. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  11. ↑ Costa, Alex (10 June 2009). "Chris Robshaw replaces James Haskell for England in Argentina". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  12. ↑ "Argentina 24–22 England". BBC. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  13. ↑ "Steve Borthwick retained as England captain". BBC News. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  14. ↑ "Robshaw answers England snub". ESPNSTAR. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  15. ↑ "England Captain Chris Robshaw is a good bloke of old fashioned manners but now must step up to the challenge". Telegraph. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "England 20 Australia 13". MailOnline. 2 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  17. ↑ "Robshaw has come of age". Telegraph. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.

External links