Marler named Harlequins captain

Harlequins have named Joe Marler as their new captain for the upcoming season.
The England loose head takes over from Chris Robshaw who had been in the position for the past four years.
Robshaw is also the England captain and with the Rugby World Cup in England only a year away, Director of Rugby Connor O’Shea revealed losing the Quins’ captaincy would relieve some pressure on the flanker.
Marler, who led England U18s in the past, came through the Harlequins Academy and made his senior debut in 2009. He has since gone on to make over 100 appearances for the south-west London club.
O’Shea said: “I am delighted that Joe has agreed to take over the captaincy from Chris. He is a massively influential player and person within the group and will bring his own personality and style to the role, with the full backing of the entire squad and management.
“It is hard to believe that at just 24, Joe has already played over 100 times for the club and become a cornerstone of the England pack.
“With regards to Chris, I have been speaking to him about the dual role of captaining both England and Harlequins for some time. He has a massive year ahead of him and I feel that we should relieve him of some of the pressure, which will allow him to focus on being at his best for both club and country.
“We are extremely grateful to Chris for the four seasons that he captained the club, of which three were spent captaining both Harlequins and England. We want him to be at his best for Harlequins, win trophies here and also lift the World Cup next year. To do so we believe he needs to be fresh both mentally and physically, hence why we have made this decision now.”
Marler added: “Firstly I want to pay tribute to how well Chris has done over the last four years, leading us through the most successful period we have had as a club. It will be good to be able to take the pressure off him as he heads into a huge year with England.
“I’m really honoured to be asked to lead a special group like this and a great club, and I can’t wait to get stuck in!”