Joe Launchbury, among the potential candidates for the England captaincy, has said he would lead by example if asked to perform the role by Eddie Jones, the new national head coach. Jones has now finally arrived in the UK from Japan after a slight delay in obtaining a work visa, with the leading English players increasingly keen to hear what he has in store for them.
Among Jones’s first tasks will be to meet Chris Robshaw, England’s World Cup captain, but he is expected to take his time before announcing who will take charge for their Six Nations opener against Scotland on 6 February. There is no clear favourite but Launchbury has rejected suggestions he is too quiet and reserved to captain a side. “A team is made up of loads of individuals and it’s important not everyone is the same,” said the Wasps lock, who misses Saturday’s Premiership game against Exeter because of injury.
“I like to think I talk to people in the right way. It doesn’t have to be in front of everyone … maybe it’s just a quiet word with a player. I’m not embarrassed to say I’m a quieter person. Fundamentally, it’s all about performances for me. You can do all the talking you like in the week but it’s important that come Saturday you perform. What you can’t have is a ton of white noise where everyone’s talking and trying to make a point.”
Launchbury also made clear he is more bothered about securing a starting place than whether he wears the armband. “It’s genuinely something I’ve never thought about,” he insisted. “For me it’s all about trying to get that shirt and really hold on to it.”
Speaking at the launch of England’s 2016 fixture schedule, which includes four autumn Tests sponsored by Old Mutual Wealth, the 24-year-old also revealed he had consulted his Wasps team-mate George Smith about what to expect once Jones gathers his new players together.
“I’ve had a quick chat with George, who’s played under Eddie for a couple of different teams,” Launchbury said. “George said he is an extremely hard-working coach who’ll put everything out there for the team and make it extremely clear what he’ll expect from both the players and the staff.
“I guess it’s important for him to come in and put his own stamp on it and I’m sure he’ll do that. He’s been an international coach for an extremely long time and his CV speaks for itself. It’s important for us as players to get on the same page … it’s an exciting time, I feel.”
Launchbury accepts, though, that memories of England’s World Cup underachievement have not entirely faded. He said: “A home World Cup was a unique challenge, which makes the disappointment of it even harder to take. A couple of poor performances let us down, as everyone knows. It’s something we’ll never forget about and will always be there. Looking back there are always things you perhaps could have done differently.”
The outlook will swiftly brighten, Launchbury feels, if Jones can add a touch of southern hemisphere clarity to England’s play. “Execution at the highest level is what wins you games. They’re not doing different stuff to us in the southern hemisphere, they’re not playing a different game,” he said.
“But they do execute under pressure and execute their skills to the highest level. That’s something we’ll definitely aspire to. You see glimpses of it in our game but I’m sure that’ll be something Eddie looks at.”
