England Player Profiles

Chris Robshaw

Key Facts

Squad	Harlequins
Position	Back row
Age	27
Height	1.88m (6'2")
Weight	110kg (17st 4lb)
Caps	17

A triumphant start as England’s captain illustrated the credentials of Chris Robshaw, who led his side to four wins in five matches during the 2012 RBS 6 Nations Championship and ten victories in 16 games overall, including the fabulous 38-21 triumph over New Zealand at Twickenham last November.

It was England’s biggest win in the fixture, exceeding the 13-point margin at Twickenham back in 1936, and ended the All Blacks’ unbeaten sequence of 20 matches. Chris went on to lead his team to a 38-18 Calcutta Cup victory over Scotland at Twickenham in February this year.

He was the RBS Man of the Match eight days later in the 12-6 triumph in Dublin over Ireland when his inspirational captaincy and all-action display was complemented by his distinction of being the top tackler in the game with 14. Chris was also man of the match in the subsequent 23-13 victory over France and his 16 tackles were exceeded only by Louis Picamoles.

An irresistible personal and team performance in the 24-22 win over France in Paris in March last year had followed the defeats of Scotland and Italy on alien soil. He had won his first cap against Argentina at Salta almost three years earlier and captained England impressively in seven consecutive matches before a cracked right thumb ruled him out of the third and final Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth last June.

He had been the mainstay of the Harlequins’ pack four seasons ago, appeared in all 22 league matches and was on the field the seventh biggest number of minutes (1,606) of any player in the Premiership.

Chris also made 226 tackles, the competition's second highest in the season. His contribution helped Harlequins to second place in the table, their best finish to date. He has been called the 'new Richard Hill' because as well as having a high work rate, he shows true class as a tackler, forager, ball carrier and link man.

A key member of the England Saxons' side that beat Scotland A 36-19 to lift the 2008 Barclays Churchill Cup, he had begun playing when seven at Warlingham RFC. He was educated at Cumnor House School, Surrey, became the captain of Harlequins for 2010-11 and led the club to an historic first Aviva Premiership title last season.

Redhill-born Chris captained Millfield, where he was a contemporary of Gloucester’s Olly Morgan and Anthony Allen, now of Leicester Tigers and shared in a Grand Slam at U21 level.

After playing in the first three matches, a broken leg ended his tournament prematurely but he recovered to appear in the 2006 IRB U21 World Championship. He represented the national U18 side and went on to study for a degree in Business Management at Roehampton University.

He scored two tries on his Harlequins' debut in the 42-3 win over Birmingham & Solihull at Twickenham Stoop in January 2006 and by the end of the 2012-13 season had advanced to 170 appearances, including 115 in the Premiership.