Six Nations: Will Carling’s tips help Chris Robshaw keep England captaincy

The Harlequins flanker was initially appointed for England’s opening two matches, but he impressed interim coach Stuart Lancaster with his leadership in the victories over Scotland and Italy. Robshaw immediately set his sights on keeping the job long-term and making England the number one ranked team by the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Carling led England to Grand Slam triumphs in 1991, 1992 and 1995 – and the 1991 World Cup final – after being appointed, at the age of 22, as his country’s youngest ever captain. Robshaw, who is 25, has won two of his three Test caps as captain and he will pick Carling’s brains before England’s showdown with Wales on February 25, just as he has over the past fortnight.

“Will Carling has been giving me tips because he was in a similar boat, probably a harder boat,” Robshaw said. “Before the Scotland game he spoke about the need to appreciate how much they dislike us – not on a personal perspective – but that we needed to be ready for the antics before the game and after the game. Last week he spoke to me about it being tough going to Italy, making sure we were ready and backing up the win, which is always the hardest. I will speak to him before the Wales game and he will probably say a similar thing (to what he said before we played Scotland).”

Lancaster made the initial short-term appointment because he could not be certain how Robshaw, as an inexperienced international, would cope with captaining England and whether it would have a negative impact on his performance. But having watched Robshaw lead from the front in two tough victories on the road, Lancaster had no hesitation in cementing his decision for the rest of the Six Nations.

“Being the England captain is a big responsibility. Part of the reason for reviewing it after two games was to see whether it affected his on-field performance,” Lancaster said. “He was the top tackler and ball-carrier against Scotland and Italy. His performances haven’t suffered and his on-field leadership has been good. He has managed the transition from club captain to international captain very well.”

Meanwhile, Manu Tuilagi insists he has a new understanding of what it means to play for England and is hungry to make a fresh start after returning to action from a double injury setback. The Leicester centre had been one of the few on-field success stories of England’s failed World Cup campaign but he returned home from New Zealand in shame. Tuilagi’s decision to jump from a ferry into Auckland harbour, the day after England’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to France, was the final scandal of a tournament dogged by controversy. “When you wear the Red Rose you represent everyone in the country. That has been clarified,” Tuilagi said. “That comes from the experiences I had in New Zealand. After that you learn and change things. I’ve grown up fast.”

Asked whether he would jump off that ferry again, Tuilagi said: “No, let’s leave it there.”