Chris Robshaw battles through the bad times to fire England

Chris Robshaw says he has had to come through some testing moments as England captain and admits his tenure has been a steep learning curve.

Robshaw’s impressive record of nine wins in 14 games as skipper – a sequence that includes a 38-21 triumph over New Zealand – has put him in contention for the Lions captaincy this summer and justified his promotion under head coach Stuart Lancaster.

But there have been challenging moments as well, with his decision-making against Australia and South Africa in November coming under intense scrutiny.

‘There’s been good times, there’s been tough times, there’s been a lot of learning,’ the Harlequins back-row said.

‘The more you do something the more experience you get. The autumn was my first time in that kind of dark, negative place.

‘As an international captain you see it in other sports and you see managers under pressure and you don’t really appreciate what it’s like until you experience it yourself.

‘It makes you a stronger person. The players, in particular, were brilliant during the whole of that stage. A week is a long time in sport, never mind a couple of months.’

England top the Six Nations table after three straight wins, and Robshaw acknowledges the support from other senior players as they chase their first Grand Slam for a decade.

‘It’s about delegating and sharing the workload,’ he added. ‘We’ve got this leadership group and key people who do it well for their clubs.’