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Robshaw coy on next move after announcing decision to leave Harlequins
Former England captain Chris Robshaw has announced he is to leave Harlequins at the end of the season after 16 years with the club.
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The 33-year-old flanker played 66 Tests for England, his last coming against South Africa in June 2018.
Last week, RugbyPass revealed that Robshaw is set for talks in New York this week ahead of a potential move to Major League Rugby.
Robshaw has made 203 appearances for Quins, captaining the side a record 92 times, and twice won the Premiership Player of the Year award during his time at the Stoop.
He is one of only two players to appear over 200 times for the club.
Robshaw wrote on the Harlequins website: “As a boy, wearing my oversized Harlequins shirt, I could never have imagined I would be fortunate enough to play for the team I admired the most.
Thank you @Harlequins ?? pic.twitter.com/4hsMZmHfDB
— Chris Robshaw (@ChrisRobshaw) February 3, 2020
“Which is why it has been a particularly difficult decision for me to leave the club after 16 extraordinary years.
“I will be hanging up my Harlequins shirt at the end of the season. And though there is so much I will miss about playing for this team, I will always be eternally grateful and proud for having had the chance to stand alongside such extraordinary players.
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“All the while, being supported by the best fans in the world.”
Robshaw was named England captain for the first time by Stuart Lancaster for the 2012 Six Nations, over two-and-a-half years on from his only international cap.
He led England in their 2015 World Cup campaign on home soil – which ended in pool stage elimination – and he was replaced as skipper by Dylan Hartley in January 2016, but retained his place in the side on the back of impressive club form.
It hasn't taken the ex-Wallaby long to secure alternative employment following last week's TV setback, and other star names could follow him to America in 2021 https://t.co/p5YF4odhqV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 28, 2020
Robshaw made no reference to retiring in his statement, hinting he intends to extend his playing career with a different club.
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He continued: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the coaches and everyone at Harlequins who have helped me achieve my dreams, the Harlequins Academy and my incredible team-mates without whom none of this would have been possible.
“Despite all the intense training hours, and the emotional and physical demands of the job, it never felt like work.
“Putting on the Harlequins shirt will always remain the greatest privilege of my professional career.
"Your Fodens and all these other players…They kind of disappear into the background whereas this guy absolutely does not.”
– @rugbyunitedny founder talks about the impact of @BastaOfficiel with @heagneyl #FRAvENG #MLRugby ???? https://t.co/asNSLRjYI3
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 2, 2020
“I look forward to the next chapter in my life, and will keep you posted. But wherever I end up next, I will do my utmost to make you proud.
“The Stoop & Harlequins will always be my home. Let’s enjoy the next few months.”
Watch: Williams makes losing league return
Comments on RugbyPass
Mad how this somehow contained absolutely zero information.
1 Go to commentsI’m looking forward to attending the Twickenham match, I don’t think it will have a bearing on the outcome of the grand prize itself but it will tell us more about each teams’ preparation and game plan. It’s hard to look past one of the big four (I’m including Canada) lifting the trophy in 2025 but sport is a curious thing, there will still be twists and turns in road ahead.
2 Go to commentsThe better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances? In 2023, the ABs at least didn’t give up a lead to lose. They just couldn’t execute to get the points and take the lead. This Baby AB result points to a choke - letting the game slip through your fingers. In the words of the great Ricky Bobby’s dad - “If you’re not 1st you’re last!” Loosely translated - if you didn’t win, you’re a loser.
9 Go to commentsWith Stuart Lancaster at the helm, Racing 92 looks more and more a mercenaries club like Toulon some years ago and they are not even performing despite all the money on offer.
4 Go to commentsCouple of things BS missed: wind was behind the Baby Blacks in the first half. Baby Boks got points from a scrum penalty in the final quarter against this ‘dominant pack’, and left three points on the park after a missed penalty.
9 Go to commentsSensible thoughts on this, Brett. Also worth considering we’ve sold 60k tickets for a game between the Rebels and the Lions next year. Got to be roughly $10m in ticket and game day revenue there.
5 Go to commentsUnsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
4 Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
4 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to commentsIs the ‘snub’ really why he is leaving? He hasn’t said that has he? You don’t have to stay in SA to play for the Boks, so it’s not that he’s giving up on trying to get into the squad as the case would be in, say, England or New Zealand. Rassie made it clear that the early camps won’t feature all the players to play for the Boks this year so I can’t imagine Dayimani was too offended by being overlooked this time. It just seems like a sensationalist angle to take for a story without really knowing the player’s intentions.
4 Go to commentsWell, it is easily one of the best Irish sides, it’s just that their historical standard is very low.
4 Go to commentsThe Irish side is good. They have lost 2 games in the last 23 tests. In the last 12 months they have have a 60% win rate against the top 5 sides in the world. Over the same period south africa have a 67% win rate against the top 5 teams, and New Zealand are at 40%.
4 Go to commentsOnly 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuth🤣Can’t wait to see how unhinged you’re still gonna get between now & then
200 Go to commentsany chance either team will improve on their u20 world cup performances this time around? I assume both sides will be deeply disappointed with how things went.
6 Go to commentsAnother poor articles by a poor journo, nothing new from Ben, at least you are consistently bad lol, geez I will try and watch the match later, clearly Benny was only looking to one end of the pitch, hard to tell whom the Baby Blacks were playing if it wasn’t in the header 😄😄
9 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
9 Go to commentsProbably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
200 Go to commentsWho hurt this man.. LoL 😭
200 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
5 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
200 Go to comments