England head coach Stuart Lancaster has confirmed that Chris Robshaw will captain England in their upcoming autumn internationals.
Robshaw, who led England to a second-place finish in this year’s RBS 6 Nations and also captained the side in South Africa this summer, has been restored as skipper for clashes against Fiji, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
The Quins flanker’s main rival for the honour appeared to be Dylan Hartley but the latter’s knee injury looks likely to rule him out of all four tests at Twickenham.
And Lancaster insisted that Robshaw will be ably supported by a strong leadership group as his side bid for their first win against Southern Hemisphere opposition since he took over.
“It was important to wait until after last weekend’s Premiership matches to check on everyone’s form and fitness and not interrupt the players’ preparations,” he said.
“I have had the chance now to have a one-on-one catch-up with each player and we are really pleased to announce Chris as captain.
“We have a strong leadership group in this squad and I know that Chris will be well supported by them in the weeks ahead.”
And Lancaster also confirmed that Northampton duo Hartley and second-row Courtney Lawes will not be available for selection for next weekend’s Fiji clash that kicks off the autumn internationals.
“The reality is they won’t be available for the Fiji game, they’re both reasonable injuries,” said Lancaster, who added that prop Joe Marler (hamstring) should be fit.
“We’re confident in Joe. We were being careful with him this week. All the medical info I’m getting is he’ll be good to go on Monday.”
