Jeremy Guscott: Robshaw’s my captain but where’s Armitage?

Stuart Lancaster named his 32-player squad last Tuesday and there weren’t any massive surprises. Mako Vunipola, the 21-year-old prop born in New Zealand might have been, but even his name had been leaked to make the squad before the announcement.
On first appearances the squad looks good – a lot of the players are in good form, and there’s a mix of inexperience, youth, and senior, seasoned guys. I’m not sure what to make of leaving naming the captain until this coming week, because what’s another game going to tell Lancaster other than can he afford to possibly leave Chris Robshaw out?
There aren’t too many contenders, and Robshaw did a decent enough job throughout most of last season. He’s a grafter, rather than the ideal, complete No.7, but he has the fitness to keep scrapping, tackling, and carrying for 80 minutes, which during last year’s transition was important. Last season Robshaw was one of the stand-out Premiership players and by rights deserved to lead England.
Dylan Hartley is another captaincy contender, but it would still be a surprise pick. Although he has been involved in the squad for a number of seasons he still doesn’t strike me as a natural leader of a team through his actions on the field. Hartley as a hooker does the job very well – he throws in well and is mobile around the field – but that has to be a given for any player at international level.
Hartley doesn’t stand out as a game changer. He’s not a player that you can hand the ball to and say give us some momentum by smashing through a couple of players and off-loading. His tackling looks a bit dangerous – lots of times you see him dive at player’s feet with no attempt to get his arms around the legs – and I’m not sure how legal it is.
He has a tendency to give away penalties and get yellow cards. His temperament has improved, but that doesn’t surprise me because it had to given his lengthy bans for gouging and biting in the last few seasons.
Toby Flood could have a look-in as captain but most coaches like forwards to lead, and I agree because they’re physically involved throughout the game and can influence more in those positions. Flood hasn’t really dominated the fly-half position and needs a full season playing for England without being dropped, getting injured, or losing form.
Another long-term option might have been Ben Youngs. However, the Leicester scrum-half hasn’t been consistent enough, he’s had injuries, and now Danny Care is No.1 choice. There’s going to be a
ding-dong battle for the shirt for several seasons to come, which is good news, but neither of them is likely be captain because of it.
Tom Wood was widely tipped to be captain last season but the foot injury meant he wasn’t available to play, let alone be made captain. The Saints flanker is back playing but not making headlines – of course, that doesn’t mean he’s not playing well, but it certainly doesn’t help his cause to be considered for the job.
I don’t think any head coach can underestimate the importance of a captain, but some have made the wrong decisions. Robbie Deans took a while to make the right choice in James Horwill but at least he made the right decision in the end.
Horwill has been missing through a long term hamstring injury and Australia’s results haven’t been great since he’s been out.
Good teams seem to have obvious choices for captain, while sides that aren’t playing well are always looked upon as not having the right person leading, or having a lack of leaders. England played well last season and could have won the Six Nations, but there didn’t appear to be an outstanding player making the difference. It was very much a collective effort.
That’s why Robshaw again appears to be the obvious choice, but how long can Lancaster ignore the very good performances of Steffon Armitage at Toulon? The balance of the back row would look a lot better with an out-and-out No.7 alongside Ben Morgan at eight or James Haskell or Thomas Waldrom at six, but instead you have Robshaw or Wood.
Lancaster should have been brave enough to select Armitage in the squad to see if the back row combination with him involved could work. Armitage was voted Top 14 player of last season, which is no mean feat, and his two recent man-of-the-match performances for Toulon against Montpellier and Cardiff Blues tells you he is continuing where he left off. He deserves a chance.
The selection of Vunipola is good as he is a ball-carrying forward who can run hard, take defenders on, and, importantly, off-load. David Wilson for Bath is another prop who has been going great since his return from injury, showing a more abrasive attacking edge. To have these options gives Lancaster wider scope in his game plan, because the more forwards who can carry well and off-load means England are more of a threat in attack – something they haven’t been for several seasons.
The midfield needs time to evolve and I would stick with the Manu Tuilagi-Jonathan Joseph combination and have Brad Barritt or Jordan Turner-Hall on the bench. Tuilagi’s future with England should be at inside-centre, with Joseph, who has more pace, kept outside him. Tuilagi is already a very good player but will become so much better when he instinctively looks to off-load and understand more about developing space. At the moment he looks to knock over defenders through his immense natural physique, or he looks to get on the outside and hand-off. If he had two more yards of pace that outside break would be effective, but he’s unlikely to gain that speed, so he should stay at inside-centre.
Charlie Sharples looks as though he might get the start and run of games at wing that his performances for Gloucester have merited. He is very quick and elusive but not overly selfish on the ball, and will look for the simple scoring pass rather than go for glory himself.
The England team for the first game against Fiji looks potentially exciting. I would like a big winger like a George North or Alex Cuthbert (both were England qualified) to help out Tuilagi in taking ball up – but that’s not available, so the backline will have to be inventive.
It’s up to Lancaster and his coaches to bring the best out of England, and at the same time give them the licence to play how they want. I believe that is with more freedom than we have seen so far.