Will Skinner: Joe Marler’s the right man to captain Harlequins

Joe Marler‘s appointment as captain of Harlequins has been hailed by former Stoop skipper Will Skinner as “an outstanding decision by Conor O’Shea”.
Eyebrows were raised when the feisty Marler was handed the responsibility by their director of rugby of leading Quins, with Chris Robshaw standing aside to concentrate on England.
Some fear the captaincy, allied to the England man’s propensity for being a target of wind-up merchants, could spell trouble.
But Skinner, who captained Quins between 2008 and 2010, reckons the Eastbourne-born prop is the right man to lead the club towards silverware.
He told The Rugby Paper: “People wouldn’t have Joe down as a captain in the way Chris and I were, but the way he’s looked up to and followed is incredible.
“I saw the potential in Joe quite a few years ago and when he told me he’d been asked to be captain, I thought it was an outstanding decision from Conor O’Shea.
“Joe’s got an unbelievable influence within whatever squad he’s part of because of his personality and the way he plays. People automatically look to him and want to talk to him and that’s what you need as captain, especially in such a young squad.
“Chris has a lot of other things to focus on and Joe is of a similar age and mentality to a lot of other guys in the squad. He’s the perfect man for the job.”
Skinner does not believe the player has to curb the confrontational nature of his game. He explained: “I don’t see it as a risk, you want a captain who’s involved in every aspect of the game.
“People try to wind Joe up because they know what a threat he is; he’s a great player first and foremost and if people think they can get under his skin – and I don’t think they will – it will simply take their minds off playing the game.
“Joe will just shrug it off and carry on playing rugby as he always has.
“He was worried that taking the captaincy might change his relationship with the squad or the dynamic of how he played, but what captaincy enables you to do is be more involved in games. You don’t drift in and out and Joe will enjoy that.”
Skinner believes Marler must remain his own man, adding: “He’s an incredibly unique person. A mistake I made was looking at other captains and trying to emulate them, but Conor selected Joe because of who he is and he shouldn’t change it.
“He should lead how he wants to lead and he’s fully aware of that.”
NEALE HARVEY