Chris Robshaw
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Birth name | Christopher Denis Yankel Robshaw | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 4 June 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Redhill, Surrey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Cumnor House School Millfield Preparatory School Millfield | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chris Robshaw (born 4 June 1986) is an English rugby union player. He was the captain of the England national rugby union team from January 2012 until December 2015. Robshaw's position of choice is in the back row of the scrum, usually flanker.
Early life
Born the middle of three boys, Robshaw coped with the trauma of his father's death when he was five years old. His mother, Patricia, raised her sons alone. Robshaw started playing rugby for Warlingham RFC at the age of seven and attended Cumnor House School. He then moved to Millfield Preparatory School and then Millfield where he was first team captain.[2]
Club career
Robshaw made his Premiership debut in the London double header at the start of the 2007–08 season. He went on to be included in the England Saxons squad who won the Churchill Cup in the summer of 2008.[3]
Since the 2014-15 season Robshaw is the first team and club vice captain of the London-based Harlequins club, having relinquished the captaincy to Joe Marler to focus on his duties as England captain. Robshaw is a two time Aviva Premiership Player of the Year winner, an award he first won following the 2008/9 season and then again following Quins' title winning campaign in 2011/12.[4][5] He started and scored a try for Harlequins in their 2011–12 Premiership final victory over Leicester Tigers.[6]
International career
Robshaw played for England Schools Under 18 (January) during 2004, before making his First XV debut during the 2005–06 season; scoring two tries in the 42–3 victory over the Pertemps Bees at the Stoop.[7]
He was also part of the England Under 21 squad that competed in the 2006 Six Nations and World Championship.[8]
On 12 December 2008, Will Greenwood declared Robshaw was pushing for international honours due to his current form, and he was fighting for a place on the upcoming Lions tour to South Africa, as an 'uncapped' Lion. Greenwood also went on to compare Robshaw to the World Cup winning blindside flanker, Richard Hill.[9]
On 19 May 2009, Robshaw was named in the England squad to play the Barbarians and Argentina.[10]
Robshaw played in a defeat to the Barbarians.[11] Robshaw later replaced James Haskell in the starting line-up for the return fixture in Salta, Argentina against the Argentines.[12] winning his debut cap in a Test match defeat to Argentina.[13]
On 25 January 2010, Robshaw was reinstated into the England EPS Squad, due to a knee injury sustained by Tom Croft[14]
Robshaw was overlooked for selection for the Rugby World Cup despite impressing in the training camp.[15]
In January 2012 Robshaw was announced as England captain for the first two games of the 2012 Six Nations, despite only previously obtaining a single cap.[16] He went on to captain England throughout the rest of the tournament, featuring a clean sweep of away wins at Scotland, Italy and France, as well as a win at Twickenham against Ireland and a narrow loss to eventual Grand Slam winners Wales. He was retained as captain of the England side for their series defeat in South Africa, in which Robshaw played only two tests after fracturing his thumb. Despite defeats to both Australia and South Africa, Robshaw captained his team to victory against New Zealand at the end of 2012.
He scored his first Test try in England's 20-13 win over Australia, on the 2nd of November 2013. [17] His second try was against Italy, in a 52-11 win. This was England's last game in the 2014 RBS Six Nations.
Robshaw was retained as captain for the 2015 Six Nations Championship, and played every minute of England's campaign. Robshaw was widely praised for his captaincy as England won the opening game 21-16 away in Wales with the captain contributing a mammoth 26 tackles. The game started 5 minutes late though as Robshaw engaged in a standoff in the Millennium Stadium tunnel, refusing to take his side out only to be left waiting in the cold by the Welsh. [18] However, England fell agonizingly short of the title on the final day of the championship, beating France 55-35 whilst needing to win by 27 points. This meant England would finish second for the fourth time in a row under the leadership of Robshaw and coach Stuart Lancaster.
As England captain he is second in the all-time list (42) behind Will Carling (59) but is the all-time leader in the Professional era
In January 2016, he lost his national captaincy to hooker Dylan Hartley, but retained his place as a regular starter. Robshaw was shifted to blindside flanker that year, changing positions as well.
References
- ^ "Harlequins 1st XV". Harlequins website. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Cain, Nick (2 December 2007). "Robshaw fitting the bill for Harlequins". London: Times Online. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
- ^ "Saxons clinch Churchill Cup glory". ESPN Scrum. 21 June 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
- ^ "Robshaw lands Premiership award". BBC. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Harlequins 30-23 Leicester". BBC Sport. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^ "Quins start the New Year with maximum points". Harlequins Official Site. 3 January 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
- ^ "England U21 31–12 Scotland U21". BBC. 17 June 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
- ^ Greenwood, Will (12 December 2008). "Chris Robshaw pushing for international honours at Harlequins". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
- ^ "Senior Squad announced". BBC. 19 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ^ "England 26–33 Barbarians". BBC. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
- ^ Costa, Alex (10 June 2009). "Chris Robshaw replaces James Haskell for England in Argentina". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
- ^ "Argentina 24–22 England". BBC. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
- ^ "Steve Borthwick retained as England captain". BBC News. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
- ^ "Robshaw answers England snub". ESPNSTAR. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ "England Captain Chris Robshaw is a good bloke of old fashioned manners but now must step up to the challenge". Telegraph. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
- ^ "England 20 Australia 13". MailOnline. 2 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ "Robshaw has come of age". Telegraph. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.