It is 27 years since England named a more inexperienced captain to lead them into a major Test but Stuart Lancaster insists he does not see the choice of Chris Robshaw as a gamble. Scotland, nevertheless, may just fancy their chances against an English side guided by a caretaker coach and commanded by a man who has appeared in a solitary Test and has never visited Murrayfield in his life.
Given England have also failed to win in Edinburgh since 2004, Robshaw's captaincy baptism could hardly be more demanding. The 25-year-old has appeared just once previously for England, against Argentina in Salta in 2009, and was omitted from his country's World Cup squad last year. Not since the winter of 1984, when the uncapped Nigel Melville led England out against Australia at Twickenham, has there been a comparable scenario.
Lancaster, though, believes the Harlequins flanker is perfect for the challenge. "If you believe someone has the leadership ability and the confidence to do the job well then I think he should be given the opportunity," said England's interim head coach. "That's how I feel about Chris. It's a similar situation to myself, to be honest. I guess it's a bit of a risk to put an interim head coach in. But I'm convinced in myself and I'm also convinced in Chris. I'd have thought Scotland will be pretty confident but we've got to control what we can control."
While England will not confirm their Calcutta Cup line-up until Thursday, Lancaster has already confirmed Robshaw will start at flanker rather than at No8, a position where England are still mulling over their options. He has also stressed the new captain has been appointed for only two Six Nations games, with the situation to be reviewed after England's trip to Rome on Saturday week. Northampton's Tom Wood, originally earmarked to lead the team, has a toe injury and will be unavailable for at least the next fortnight.
Given Wood is also a flanker there is no guarantee Robshaw's tenure will be a lengthy one. As well as cementing his place in the team, the latter also has to banish the memory of a couple of dubious recent on-field tactical calls while captaining Harlequins. Rejecting a kickable penalty against Connacht in Galway 10 days ago ultimately cost Quins victory by a point and saw them knocked out of Europe. "Hopefully I can draw on those experiences," said Robshaw, admitting he had to "pinch himself" after Lancaster delivered the good news on Sunday. Scotland will unveil their starting XV on Tuesday.
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