Chris Robshaw

I get why some people don't rate him but I've been won over. Firstly i think it's pretty amazing to have a player that makes it to every ruck and clear out...sort of important don't you think?

Secondly i dont have the stats on me but I'm pretty sure he was leading for carries and tackles for a lot of the 6N. He's also like a second scrum half that's always nearby in case the ball needs tidying up. He gets on loose ball, makes the unglamorous carries that need doing.

Lastly read the piece by Clive Woodward on him and you'll know his team mates and coaches rave about him as a player and leader.

That's all good enough for me. The two you mentioned have been playing well and Kvesic in particular could be very useful one day but for now I'd keep Robshaw.

agree with sporty, i think he's been fantastic and was arguably the best player in the 6N, he was the one player to come out with any credit against wales

He was the best flanker in the 6 nations for sure. Not sure if it is me being ignorant or not but we don't seem to have any back row players that are turnover specialists? Southern Hemisphere Jackling is at another level and I think we really need to learn a thing or two from their aggressive counter rucking and technical jackling as the amount of turnovers they get is insane.

RVP

in the SH case, its called cheating McCaw is the master

As an irishman i value above all commitment and leadership.

Robshaw is not the best in his position. Not even the second best or maybe third. He probably should not travel with the lions as there are better candidates for the position.

However as a leader he is Excellent. Commitment excellent. Desire, endevour and a never give up attitude.

Couple that with a genuinely nice off field personalty and you are left with a star player. Are respected player, maybe not by some pundits or fans who want to see spectacular every time.

But rugby is about so much more than something spectacular. It about bravery and in his case leadership of his country.

He has my respect as an Irishman, and indeed it may go against the grain but i will happily defend him if someone puts him down for no good reason other than repeating what you mate said down the local.

Robshaw isn't a ball carrier, he doesn't make yards, doesn't break tackles. All back row forwards get to most rucks that's the main part of the role ie Clearing, securing ball from rucks

Chris Robshaw isn't a leader look at how Owen Farrell bossed him around during the autumn internationals and 6 nations. The only player who showed desire/commitment/never die say attitude was Tom Wood he was immense by far our best player

He made another dreadful call against Wales in the 2nd half going for 3 points instead of the lineout Farrell missed his kick, Wales tore us apart shortly afterwards

John1.
Mate get real. Robshaw lost one game. The saying is true, your only as good as your last game. But if you think for a second that England lost because of him hell thats not even naive its down right stupid. 30 - 3 is not the result of any one man and is disrespectful to wales who were simply awesome and won fair and square. But don't p¡$$ all over your captain for no reason.

You are absolutely correct about Wood. He's excellent and will travel with the lions im sure. Robshaw probably will not. As i said before their are many other players who are better in his position.

Farrell is the fly half. the pivot. his job is to boss the play! what the hellare you talking about. the pivot position is exactly that. Everything goes through the Fly half. If you have a weak fly half with no voice you lose. Rule 101 in rugby.

Thats why its usually preferable to have a captain in the forwards as he is the leader of the pack while the fly half dictates attacking play.

Robshaw was a general in defence, tireless and selfless. and if you put him down for a silly reason you better be prepared to back it up with some facts and knowledge of the game

England were well beaten not questioning the result, questioning Robshaw's decision making we saw vs SA, Australia how poor/indecisive his decisions were. Owen Farrell was bossing him around in terms of whether to go for the kick or lineout. How can a captain be told what to do by a 20 year old? He doesn't have the authority/persona to be a real leader/captain

Back row is unbalanced with Robshaw in the team, if England are to improve the breakdown work they can't accommodate Robshaw

Looking at it, Robshaw is a fantastic captain and leader, well spoken, respected, fearless and always leads from the front, but as Dingbatman says, he isn't the best in his position, not even for England, let alone the lions.

Lets not forget though, he played much of his previous Rugby at 6, where i thought he looked even better than he does now. He has the energy and workrate to play 7, but i don't think he has the subtle skills, maybe lacking in a bit of speed etc when compared to your natural sevens.

Unfortunately for Chris, Tom Wood is the best 6 in England, and arguably one of the top 3 in Europe (ran close by a fit Lydiate and Ferris) and therefore he won't play in his original, and 'natural position'. Martin Johnson was quoted to say that if Robshaw was to play regulary for England it would have to be at openside.

I believe Robshaw has done a fantstic job with England so far, revolutionising the England team of a few years ago, but Lancaster may have to reconsider his option for captain, with Wood as the original favourite only to be ruled out through injury. It would be a tough call, but he would be vice captain, and a fantastic player to have floating between the squad and the first team.

Ultimately, England need a true openside, we can't continue to play with two 6's, it upsets the chemistry. Armitage is playing fantastically well for Toulon and should be going to Argentina in the summer, and the one i'm most excited about is Kvesic, coming to my home town of Gloucester next year, 20 years old, a fantastic prospect, he looks like he's got the raw ingredients to go far. Give him a few seasons at Gloucester playing with Morgan, and maybe we'll see:

Wood-------Morgan------Kvesic

With Robshaw covering the back row. But the slating of him is unfounded, he's done a great job in a time of need but ultimately he may not be the best man for the job over the next few years

Yes John1

Its not unwarrented to say that a better backrow balance is required. Wales took England to pieces with 2 genuine fetchers (open-sides) at 6 and 7. Not ball carriers, Proper thieves on the ground.

Robshaw however is not a 7 as Captain Verminator points out. Against the likes of McCaw, Warburton, Pocock he would suffer. That said, he lead his team valiantly its massively unfair to poo poo him. Realizing his limitation is perfectly acceptable though.

Now im going to go back to your point about the Fly Half because you are wrong.

Any and all forward in the world not only need a decisive fly half but they want it!
Paul O'Connell, Richie MaCaw, John Smit et al. They demand their Fly Half to take responsibility. If He can kick a penalty its his job to step up and tell the captain. "I can get this one, Give me the ball"

If can't then its also his duty to tell the captain that they got to go down the line.

The fly half alone needs to be 100% assured. Every player from 8 to 1 look to the fly half for direction, for assurance the fly half rewards the forward effort by scoring penalties and or kicking them into position for challenge for line outs etc.

Everything goes through the Fly Half in every rugby team in the world. It is imperative that you have a confident and decisive fly half. No forward knows if the ball kickable or not. Thats the job of the 10. Plain and Simple.

I don't know where you got the idea that Robshaw was suppose to be bossing Farrell. I guarantee you that you would have lost more then the final game of the six nations if the fly half was being bossed around by anyone.