“I was down because it felt like the end,” Chris Robshaw says as he faces the truth that he has probably played his last game for England and will not be on the plane when Eddie Jones’s squad flies to Japan for the World Cup this Sunday. Robshaw has just finished lunch in Guildford and, after a sincere 15 minutes in which he has stressed his enthusiasm for a new rugby season as captain of his beloved club, Harlequins, he admits the old heartbreak.
Robshaw won 66 caps, a grand slam and was a key part of a world record-equalling run of 18 successive Test victories but he will also be remembered as England’s captain in their painful 2015 World Cup. Exactly four years ago he was about to lead England into a tournament on home soil. Serious hope and giddy anticipation soon turned to dust as England did not even make it out of their group after losing against Wales and Australia at Twickenham. The scars remain for Robshaw.
It says much about his character and resilience that, rather than being banished from international duty then, Robshaw not only held on to his place but emerged as a crucial figure in the first three years of Jones’s tenure as England head coach. Jones had dismissed Robshaw as an average player at the previous World Cup. But the Australian changed his mind once he met a man whose commitment and integrity is illustrated by the fact that he has played for Harlequins, the club he supported as a boy, since joining their academy 16 years ago.
Robshaw’s face clouds a little when he remembers the last time he spoke to Jones, which was a few weeks ago. “He phoned me up and told me he was calling about selection. When Eddie calls you it’s normally not good news. You know what’s coming. But it’s still never nice when he tells you you’re not going to the World Cup. For me the last one didn’t go well. I wanted to have another shot at it because you realise how special they are as tournaments. So it was extremely tough.”
He smiles, but with more than a hint of sadness. “It does feel like the end because, realistically, you’re probably not going to play again. I’m 33 now. But you get back on the horse and I went to Twickenham with Sky Sports to watch the England [World Cup warm-up] game. After it’s over you feel tired. You’ve seen your old teammates. You’ve had a laugh with some of them. Eighty thousand people are there. You’re on the pitch. This is what it’s about. This is why you play the game. And now it’s over. After that I was a bit down.”
Robshaw nods when I say he has still had a fine career, in which he has made the most of his ability. “You still always want more. But that’s what people say when I have my sulk and down moments. I’ve been very privileged to play so many times for my country. I’ve played all over the world and been extremely honoured to have captained England more times than most.”
Robshaw led England in 43 Tests and only Will Carling has been captain more often than him. Even the great Martin Johnson captained England four times fewer than Robshaw. “As a kid I would never have dreamed of it. Even as a young professional I wouldn’t ever have thought I’d achieve that. When you look at it like that, you change your point of view. But if you’ve got 70 caps, you want 80. You want to win another bit of silverware. You want to play in another Six Nations and one more World Cup. But you also realise how you’ve benefited from everything and you come to peace with it somehow.”
A new season with Harlequins helps bring that peace. Robshaw has already reflected on how they missed the play-offs with the final kick of last season, having been in the top four for most of the campaign, and why they expect to sustain their challenge this year. He is also thrilled to be leading Quins in the European Champions Cup as they return to the elite club competition after a long break. But I am curious to hear how Jones broke the news to him.
“Eddie and I have always had a good relationship. He’s always been very straight with me and honest. He’s never mucked me around. I don’t want to go into the conversation we had but even when he dropped me for the second game in South Africa [in 2018] he said: ‘Look, you’re just not playing as well as normal.’ You can’t argue with it, can you? I wasn’t playing as well, and you accept it as I’m always quite realistic. It’s never nice to hear these things but I’ve been on the good side of these conversations more than the wrong side.”
Typically Robshaw forced his way back into the side the following week in Cape Town – which meant he had played in seven of England’s first eight Tests in 2018. England broke a long losing run by winning in Cape Town but that game marked Robshaw’s last international appearance. A few months later, in October 2018, injury struck.
“I was playing really well, some of my best stuff, and things were going well at Quins. Then, against Saracens, I did my meniscus. I had a sore knee after the game but I thought it was just wear and tear. The following day I knew it wasn’t right. I went for a scan and I’d torn a bit of the meniscus. I had to have an operation and then I tried to rush back as I had missed the autumn internationals. I tried to get a few games under my belt and put my hand up for the Six Nations. But I pushed too hard and it didn’t quite heal. When you’re on the back foot trying to catch up it’s very difficult.”
Robshaw is fully fit again and bursting with energy. He has won the Premiership once with Harlequins, when he led them to victory in 2012, and he believes they are better equipped now than at any time in the past seven years to challenge for the title again – even if Saracens’ supremacy is daunting. “Our goal is to be in the top four and, after that, anything’s possible. You’ve got a chance to win it. Of course you need a bit of luck and there’s a gap at the moment between Saracens and everyone else. They are the most dominant side in English Premiership history. So it’s going to be tough but we’re always trying to evolve and improve.
“We’re lucky we have such an innovator in Paul Gustard [England’s defence coach under Jones until he took charge of Harlequins last year]. He always thinks in new and different ways. Paul’s worked with Saracens and England in some fantastic set-ups. He and I have got a good relationship and during my time with England he was always a back‑row point of contact. I would usually speak to him and he’d speak to Eddie. I got to know him very well. He’s a good man who will drive you hard on the pitch but at the end you know he’s going to have a laugh and some fun.”
England’s back row and an absence of a natural No 7 was a feature of Robshaw’s time under Jones. The Harlequins captain switched from openside to blindside and he and James Haskell formed an unlikely Test combination. After England won the grand slam in 2016 and before they beat Australia away 3-0, Haskell bought Robshaw and himself two shirts with 6½ printed on the back.
Now, on the eve of the World Cup, England could play Tom Curry and Sam Underhill, two openside flankers, alongside each other. Jones calls them the “Kamikaze Kids” and Robshaw feels the combination works well while pointing out that “we might still see Mark Wilson at 6”, saying: “Mark is a fantastic player. So Eddie has lots of options and he’s been speaking about playing certain players for certain games. He’s also picked Lewis Ludlam [the Northampton flanker who made his debut last month]. I don’t know much about Ludlam. I’d never even seen him play until that England game. But he carries hard and tackles hard. He’s definitely taking this opportunity.”
Can Robshaw bear to watch the World Cup? “Yeah, I’m a massive rugby fan. I love watching rugby. Sometimes it drives my wife mad. Next weekend I’ll be watching club games, England [against Italy on Friday evening in Newcastle] and other internationals. I’ll be cheering England on as I’ve still got many friends in the squad. We’ve been through a lot and there are still guys who were with me in 2015. I know how they’ll be feeling, and how they’ll be hurting and wanting to put things right. I’m really excited about England’s chances. They’ve got a fantastic squad from what we’ve seen in the buildup games. They look dangerous and hungry. The pack is big and physical. The backline looks like it could scare anyone. It’s exciting.”
Does Robshaw believe England could win the World Cup? “I think they can. I think it will be between England and South Africa.”
But not New Zealand, who have won the past two World Cups? “I think they’ll be thereabouts but I like the look of England and South Africa. Of course I hope England win it. It would be brilliant for the guys and amazing for the country. Seeing the buzz about the football, in both the men’s and women’s World Cup, and now the Ashes, you realise how sport galvanises the country like nothing else. This England side has the potential to do that.”
Robshaw has one year left on his Quins contract and, apart from ruling out any coaching role, he is open to everything. He might stay on, seek a different rugby challenge elsewhere or start a new life away from the game next summer. “We all have to find a new career at some point,” he admits.
Haskell announced last week that he is preparing to become a professional MMA fighter. “Nothing surprises me with Hask,” Robshaw says with a wry laugh. “He lives life to the fullest and likes to experience things. For many years he’s followed MMA and the UFC and trained in that environment. It’s not the kind of thing I would fancy but I hope it goes well. I will do something very different when the time comes.”
Robshaw’s sense of peace and acceptance will have deepened by then. He might experience a twinge of regret during the World Cup but, as he says now, before he stretches out his hand to say goodbye: “As you get older, and as you move further away from the game, it gets easier. You look back and you think: ‘You know what? I did all right in the end.’”
