Co-captaincy is something that didn’t used to be seen regularly in elite rugby however of late it’s become much more familiar to us all and in my personal opinion makes so much sense.
George Ford and Chris Robshaw are both experienced leaders - clearly the latter has worn the ‘armband’ at international level more - however if you ask any player within England’s squad then they will tell you about the amount of work and leadership that both George Ford and Owen Farrell deliver during Test weeks and matches.
Today the fly-half will be at the heart of this England outfit and on Thursday afternoon the 24-year-old provided insights into the challenge that Samoa will pose.
“With Samoa it’s going to be a different challenge because they’ll be a bit unpredictable. From what we’ve seen from the last two or three games it’s hard to pick out any trends or themes, how they defend for example, other than every now and then someone will fly out of the line and smash someone.
“We’ve got to be sharp in terms of decision-making and make sure everyone is a genuine option when we’re attacking, that we’re not predictable so that they can see a play a mile away and afford to fly out of the line and hit someone. They energise themselves by making big hits and winning collisions. We’ve got to be smart and make sure we make good decisions.”
For as long as I can remember people have been quick to highlight their beliefs that Leicester Tiger isn't physical enough at fly-half. However in my view that's not the case and instead I firmly believe that he's a world-class rugby player and fly-half. George Ford is so unique in the way that he plays so flat to the line, his vision is better than any around and when it comes to defensive duties he never takes a backward step. Yes, on occasion he may concede a bit of ground in the hit (that's a function of physics) however those thinking that they’ll get an easy ride going down his channel are often found to be wrong.
With the Samoans famed for their physicality the fly-half knows exactly what's required from him and from all of England's backs today.
“Our skills have got to be on the money, our catch-pass stuff because if not they’ll just come for you, flying off the line and wanting to hurt you. Our basics have got to be brilliant.”
After he elaborated about his personal approach to the physical challenge that will be laid at his doorstep today;
“You don’t think too much about the danger of it but you understand there are some big guys coming off the line. This week it’s a bit more unpredictable because you don’t know who is going to do it. Usually you’d be able to pick up a trend in terms of knowing that the 13 is going to do it but in Samoa’s case it’s not always the 13, it could be anyone. We’ve got to be aware of that but we can’t sit back and be tentative. We’ve got to go at Samoa and try to dictate to them rather than wait and see what they’re going to do. We’ve got to be brave.”
As mentioned one of the other much-discussed elements of the week has been the fact that Chris Robshaw will be leading England again [alongside George] and be back in the seven jersey.
For the man himself the number on his back matters little and instead he’s solely focused on delivering his game to the best of his ability and leading with distinction. Of course some will say that this is just media speak but having interviewed Chris on a number of occasions, and worked with him when I used to be a brand manager for one of England's Rugby's partners, he isn’t just taking the party line. The 31-year-old is extremely dedicated to his own rugby development and putting his game on the park whether that’s in a six or seven jersey.
With 58 caps in the bank, and the ups and downs that Chris Robshaw experienced during those 58 caps, he’s extremely well-placed to hand out a word of advice to squad members ahead of kick-off;
"A lot of guys have got an opportunity this week, guys who’ve been training hard, training for this opportunity for a long time. For myself and George it’s about helping those guys and making them feel confident and comfortable in that situation; that they can go out there and express themselves – and that they don’t have to make the miracle play and force things, they can just go about their business.
"Someone like Sam Simmonds has done exceptionally well in the last two weeks; he has come on and really made an impact. He’s probably been the form player in the first third of the Premiership season and I am looking forward to the opportunity to play with him."
Here at Twickenham Stadium the sun is shining and the conditions are perfectly set for this final Test of 2017. As mentioned in my preview this is a test in every sense of the word with individuals shifting roles from starters to finishers, finishers to starters or finishers to squad players. With George Ford and Chris Robshaw at the helm England will be led with distinction as both have prepared this squad for the Test at hand and will thrive as a leadership duo together.
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Jonny May, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Alex Lozowski, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford (co-capt), 9 Danny Care; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Maro Itoje, 7 Chris Robshaw (co-capt), 8 Sam Simmonds. Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Courtney Lawes, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Semesa Rokoduguni.
Samoa: 15 Ah See Tuala, 14 Paul Perez, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 David Lemi, 10 Tim Nanai-Williams, 9 Dwayne Polataivao, 1 Jordan Lay, 2 Motu Matu´u, 3 Donald Brighouse, 4 Josh Tyrell, 5 Chris Vui (c), 6 Piula Fa'asalele, 7 TJ Ioane, 8 Jack Lam. Replacements: 16 Manu Leiataua, 17 James Lay, 18 Hisa Sasagi, 19 Fa'atiga Lemalu, 20 Ofisa Treviranus, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 Reynold Lee-Lo, 23 JJ Taulagi.
