REDEMPTION SONG
Robshaw is still haunted by World Cup Flanker is out to ‘right the wrongs’
CHRIS ROBSHAW’S best-case scenario involved a comeback this weekend but his ‘grumbly, older knee’ is not quite ready yet. The revised target is a return by the middle of next month.
That leaves the Harlequins flanker facing a rush to be ready for the Six Nations. He is desperate to be involved again, after missing England’s autumn campaign, but the injury-enforced break has given him time to take stock.
At 32, Robshaw is considering the future. He has his sights firmly set on the World Cup and the chance to ‘right the wrongs’ of 2015.
He is weighing up the idea of playing abroad before reaching retirement. He has already ruled out becoming a coach — instead he is exploring several business ventures.
Of course, the short-term objective is to complete the recovery phase after knee surgery two months ago.
When it is suggested that he has demonstrated considerable physical resilience over the years — by staying fit for long periods — Robshaw delivers a polite correction. ‘It’s funny, people always think that but it’s a bit of a misconception,’ he told Sportsmail, after his latest rehab session at Harlequins’ training base.
‘I’ve broken my foot twice, broken my leg, done all my knee ligaments, broken both hands.
‘I’ve had a bulging disc. I’ve done an A/C joint in that (right) shoulder and a tear in the other shoulder — and I’ve done my knee again now. So I’ve had my fair share, but it’s nice not to be known as injury-prone.’
In his absence, England had a positive autumn, with Brad Shields further establishing himself in the blindside role that has been Robshaw’s domain for much of Eddie Jones’s tenure.
Mark Wilson also emerged as a back-row candidate for the World Cup squad.
Veterans such as Mike Brown, Dan Cole and James Haskell have been forced to the periphery of the head coach’s plans, but Robshaw is determined not to join that category.
An important year lies ahead, with the 2019 World Cup looming. The man who was captain for the ill-fated English campaign in 2015 is hell-bent on going to Japan and taking care of some unfinished business.
He will strive for a recall and a seat on the plane to the Far East. It matters. A lot. ‘I want to be playing for England again and of course I’ll have to fight hard to do that,’ he said.
‘I massively want to have another shot at the World Cup. That is my long-term goal for next year. I want to have another shot at it and put those wrongs (from 2015) right. That still hurts and is a scar I’ll wear for life. We want to repay the nation for what didn’t go well last time.
‘There will always be games that mean a lot more to you. Particularly that first year post-World Cup, when we played Wales and Australia… for me in particular, it meant so much.
‘It was therapeutic. After the Wales game, I couldn’t stay on the pitch. I broke down in tears. Everything just came out.
‘Then to go on tour to Australia and win my 50th cap in that second Test out there when we won the series, and being presented with that cap by Jason Leonard — it was just closure for me.’
Over the last couple of months, while unable to play, Robshaw has been mixing with corporate clients at his club and at Twickenham.
He has been talking and listening and learning, as part of his desire to make firm plans for the next stage in his life, whenever it is time to stop playing.
‘It’s funny how, all of a sudden this year, people are asking me, “So, what are you going to do next”?’ he said. ‘I’ve got business interests, but in terms of what I’m going to do properly after playing, I’m not sure yet.
‘I’ve got to find out what that next thing is. I don’t know yet. I know I won’t be coaching though. Definitely not. I think that to be a good coach, you have to have a passion for it and really enjoy it.
‘I do the odd bit of coaching, and I don’t mind it, but my heart wouldn’t really be in it.’
Robshaw’s decision-making process involves geographical considerations too. He added: ‘I would love to live abroad at some point, otherwise I’d have lived my whole life in south west London.
‘I was a Harlequins fan as a kid, I grew up in the catchment area and I’m sure one day I’ll retreat to the suburbs and do that kind of thing, but before that I want to venture away somewhere.
‘Does that come in the rugby world? I’m not sure. I’ve got another year-and-a-half here at` the club and I’m very happy the way things are going for Quins, but who knows?’
A move to France, or perhaps even one of the emerging rugby markets such as Japan or the USA, would provide Robshaw with a chance to operate outside of his comfort zone. That is a recurring objective for the former England captain.
When Robshaw was a kid, he may not have truly believed that he would play for his country, at a World Cup, but he did. Now he wants to do it again, to right that wrong, before embracing a future outside of rugby.