Today on the day that Harlequins take their first step on their European journey we have been given an
insight from BT Sport into an interview between Chris Robshaw and their man Lawrence Dallaglio. Both Chris and Lawrence are two iconic figures of the modern game and the interview makes for captivating reading which is why I wanted to share it on Out On The Full;
LD - I’m going to ask you about the
captaincy because I’m quite well placed to ask this, you’re England captain but
not Harlequins captain, how does that feel for you this season?
CR – It’s been a little bit strange, of course initially. But you soon get back into
the swing of things, you know if Joe needs a bit of a hand, similarly to how I
was before, it wasn’t just me out there by myself leading everything; I had the
leadership group around me
LD - Was the area of the captaincy something
you approached Conor with or was it a bit of both, he came to you and said
you’ve got a big year coming up let’s take a bit of pressure off you?
CR –
A little bit of both really; it was one of those things where we’ve actually
been speaking for some time and as you’ve seen with various sports in the last
year or so, the media pressure does tend to pump up a little bit and especially
with the year ahead there’s going to be a lot of things and you (probably know
from your own experience being with Phil Vickery, when he was captaining
England and you were Wasps captain, did it make a big difference to Phil?
LD - I suppose it means you don’t have to do
every team talk, every warm-up, every media session…
CR –
Yeah exactly, it’s just little things like that which probably do add up in the
long term when you look over big years and big series and tournaments and bits
which you think ‘oh that shouldn’t make a difference’ but you do that on
the back of potentially a big loss or a big win and the emotions and everything
mentally… it’s a big side of the game now that mental side and it’s about
making sure you are fresh. Last season I think we played for over a calendar
year when you include tours and pre-season so it is important that guys do look
after themselves and that’s what Conor’s done.
Next the
focus shifted to Europe, with Harlequins’ Premiership form seemingly a little
patchy to those on the outside, it was a chance for Lawrence to get a
temperature check from a man in the thick of it;
LD – Let’s talk Europe, new
competition, massively exciting, how are the guys in the dressing room feeling
about it?
CR -
Yeah, excited; of course it’s always a bit tougher to train when conditions are
like this out there, but the guys love Europe, they love a trip in Europe as
well and it is always exciting. I think the great thing about Europe is you’re
not always playing against players you normally play against. I can’t remember
if Quins have actually played Castres in their previous history, so you are
playing a bit of the unknown which is always quite exciting and you’re playing
against some incredible players as well. It is a fantastic tournament and it’s
great it did stick around and allows players to compete against each other.
LD – if
we look specifically on Friday night, playing Castres, a team you don’t know so
well, are studying the tapes?
CR –
Of course every team around has a big analysis team and knows what’s going on
and what moves, and the way they like to play and stuff. A typical French pack,
really big, heavy pack who are very set-piece orientated but also with some
dangerous backs as well and guys who can kick the ball a long way so again
coming back to our discipline. If we are ill-disciplined, a team like this has
a strong maul, strong kicker and will be hard to play against.
Finally
England have four huge tests this Autumn and they are tests that many are
calling defining for this side. So Lawrence delved a little into how Chris is feeling going into these clashes;
CR - Very
excited, looking at the way teams are playing, players are playing, guys are
putting their hands up and it’s fantastic for English rugby. I think also the
way England finished in the summer we feel we’ve got a little bit of unfinished
business, that we didn’t quite put ourselves out there and, the first two games
were absolutely fantastic down there in the summer but unfortunately we feel
that as a team we let ourselves down in that last game just being slightly off
the pace. And of course New Zealand are up first aren’t they, so we are
so excited
LD - Looking at the back-row that is
extremely competitive area, do you feel the competition, the noise around you?
Or do you just focus on yourself and thrive on the fact that the likes of
Haskell is playing well and others at different clubs?
CR –
You’d probably be lying if you said you didn’t feel it or notice what’s been
written or said out there. As an individual there is always competition and you
want to make sure that you are playing as well as possible and how do you go
about that? Do you go about that by being drawn into what’s being said or do
you speak to the coaches and the guys that matter and can help you and try to improve
your game to get better? And that’s the way it’s got to be, you can’t be drawn
into all that stuff.
LD – With the World Cup at the end of the
year, it’s obviously an extremely big year for rugby, do you dare to dream
about the end of next year and the World cup or do you just take it in each
individual block? It must be at the back of your mind?
CR – It
is, it is… you try not to, is probably the best way of putting it. I think
everyone knows what’s happening and when it’s happening because every time
we’re interviewed we are reminded. It is extremely exciting, don’t get me wrong
and England are proving themselves and improving regularly I think and that it
is the main thing. But we still have a little bit of a way to go with this
Autumn Series coming, the Six Nations, which we’ve finished 2nd the last three
years, we still feel there is something out there we want to grab, we want to
claim…
… LD –Actually I was going to ask you about
that because under your captaincy England have been improving all the time,
winning big games but you’ve yet to win the tournament you really want to. Is
that something - your clearly going to target - but that you’ve almost have to
do before you take on the World Cup?
CR - Yeah
I think so. It just gives you that backing doesn’t it. In the back of your mind
you know what you’ve done and as international players and as a team we are
judged truly on results, you can say you’ve played the prettiest rugby or
whatever but at the end of the day if you’re not winning it doesn’t really
matter.
