Some surprising news out of Harlequins this week as Joe Marler has replaced Chris Robshaw as the club captain. The reasoning behind the move was to “relieve the pressures of being captain of club and country” in a world cup year, so that Robshaw is totally ready and focused when the World Cup does eventually come around.
Robshaw has been captain of Harlequins for the last four seasons, and in that time the club has arguably one of the successful periods in its history. They have been a regular top four team, and have competed with competence in Europe. He is nearing 200 appearances for Harlequins, and has captained England 27 times out his 28, starting back in 2012.
It is rumoured Conor O’Shea has been considering it for well over a year, and has had discussions with Stuart Lancaster about it. The whole idea is keep the strain off Robshaw, and O’Shea went onto say “He understands where I am coming from, I’ve done it in the best interests of Quins.”
Personally my opinion is it could turn out very well, however whether it is in the best interests of Quins will remain to be seen. A captain is a captain at the end of the day, and as this group of players have been together for a while and I can see this coming as a bit of a surprise to them.
It is not unheard of for the the national captain not to lead their club team, however in a World Cup year it is a very bold move. Arguably, also, the England captain role has huge pressure anyway, regardless of a world cup year. He hasn’t seemed to struggle previously, therefore why do it now?
So who is the new man? At 24 Marler has already made over 100 appearances for the club and is a consistent performer for both club and country. With his 22 caps already for England, he has shown his leadership skills on the pitch, and those who watch his interviews off the field, he is certainly a “larger than life” character. He will be given the freedom, no doubt, to put his own spin on the role, with Robshaw always there to lend a helping hand. He is one of the youngest captains in the clubs history, and I think O’Shea definitely has the future in mind here.
Marler went onto to say “It will be good to take the pressure off him as he heads into a huge year with England.”
Therefore as I said, it will be very interesting to see how Harlequins do this season as he has been captain of the club for four years, and this is a massive change in group dynamic. My opinion is, he has done a fantastic job combining the two, why change?. O’Shea’s intentions here are very good, his actions are selfish in terms of wanting the best for Harlequins (who can blame him) and unselfish in terms of wanting the best for the national captain. All I can say is Robshaw is a very modest man, and would not hesitate to help Marler if needed. If him being more refreshed and energised means even better performances, then that is an exciting prospect for England fans.
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