How a battle with childhood dyslexia helped forge Chris Robshaw's England captaincy
There was a time when Chris Robshaw would have been driven daft at the prospect of being at an England Test match and not being able to play. Not any more.
The 32-year-old has lost none of his drive and ambition to add to a tally of international appearances that has been stuck on 66 since his last run for his country in Cape Town last June.
The former Test skipper thought he was close to bridging this nine-month gap when involved in training in the lead-up to last week’s Six Nations win over Italy.
He didn’t make the cut in the end – and wasn’t called back either this week to give a dig-out in the countdown to this Saturday’s encounter with Scotland.
However, rather than run a mile from the frustrating prospect of sitting in a stand and having no control of the action that will unfold in the Calcutta Cup, Robshaw will be readily cheering on England in a fixture that will become a title decider if Ireland upset Wales earlier in the day.
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“I will be at the ground. I have sold my soul and I will be doing the old corporate,” he explained to RugbyPass. “I will be there supporting the guys.
“I have been enjoying my rugby (at Harlequins) and to get called back to England was fantastic. Whenever you have that opportunity is brilliant, the intensity of the training, the skills, the weights, it’s where you want to be, where you aspire to be.
“To have a taste of that again excites you and drives you on because that is where you want to be. That is where we all aspire to be – we want to be at the top level, so to have that taste has made me as hungry as ever.”
Yes the boys ?? pic.twitter.com/hFWvKstGem
— Chris Robshaw (@ChrisRobshaw) March 2, 2019
Coping with adversity is something Robshaw is now more adept at doing. He smiles far more frequently and no longer looks like the player who had the weight of the world on his shoulders when England crashed out of the 2015 World Cup with him as their skipper.
He might not have played in this year’s Six Nations, but his wealth of experience made sure he still wielded a positive influence, Robshaw revealing he was a shoulder for Kyle Sinckler to lean on after the young prop found himself in the eye of a storm following the round three loss at Wales.
“I will learn from that [Wold Cup 2015]. It will always be something that will be part of me. There are ways that you can help yourself to move forward, but you will always have that pain. You learn lessons and you deal with things.
“For me now, personally it’s about using that experience to help guys when they are in a tough time, helping the likes of Kyle Sinckler after the Wales game when he had a bit of a backlash. Unless you have been in situations like that you don’t really appreciate what they are like. It’s just trying to be there for people.
“I’m trying to evolve. The stress and worrying and whatever else is gone from me. Your shoulders get a bit broader, you’re chest gets a bit bigger and you learn what is important.
“When I was younger it was pretty stressful. Captain of Harlequins, captain of England, the ups and downs, the roller coaster of professional sport. Now in the latter part in my career I know what to value and I know what is important. I know how to get the best out of my body and I know how to hopefully help other people as well.”
Robshaw was in his element doing precisely this on Wednesday night, visiting the Warlingham RFU under-10s at the invitation of Premiership Rugby title sponsors, Gallagher. Their England-wide Train with your Heroes initiative brought him back to days of yore when he was a kid mingling with the rugby stars of that particular time.
“I remember we went to watch a game at Twickenham, Leicester against Bath, and you had Martin Johnson, Leon Lloyd, Austin Healey walking up the stairs past you. You were thinking, ‘Wow’ and we were able to pat them on the back, all that sort of stuff.
“It’s something that I still remember now,” he said, adding that his battle with childhood dyslexia is a regular topic of conversation when he attends community functions such as the one in south London the other night.
“A lot of teachers, students and parents come up and probably half the questions I get are actually about that [dyslexia]. What did I do? Do I still struggle? Hopefully I can help children with what I say because I struggled massively.
“It was a time when I was frustrated, I was angry, I was not understanding things and it wasn’t until later in life and in my rugby now where I’m more relaxed that you really appreciate the work that you put in to get over it and you appreciate the work that everyone around you did to help you grasp it.
“What is hugely important is understanding what makes people tick. There isn’t one message for all but it’s about understanding that there is a lot of brilliant people who are fantastic about helping people understand it, helping children improve as individuals and grasp things that they don’t understand and don’t know why.
Congratulations to @MightyWarl the local winners of our #TrainWithYourHeroes competition for describing the club's brilliant ethos of inclusivity. Session led by @Harlequins stars @ChrisRobshaw, @CJMulchrone, @JHorwill pic.twitter.com/Hr4RJVpSpi
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) March 13, 2019
“For me that was a big thing. I couldn’t understand why all my friends were able to understand things and I wasn’t grasping it. As a young boy that was pretty tough. I remember there was a time when I had to spend an extra break in class and couldn’t go out and play and I hated it, but I really see the benefit of it now.
“The advice is stick with it. Certainly later in life you will really appreciate the work you put in now, the work that your teachers or your parents have put in because they want you to get better.”
Turning back to the rugby, Robshaw can’t wait to see what the weekend brings. If results fall a particular way, England can be crowned Six Nations champions for the third time in four seasons. That would be quite an outcome given the hysteria which surrounded the team three-and-a-half years ago when they bombed out of their own World Cup.
“We peaked at the wrong time for that World Cup and that was a tough time for myself and everyone involved. It wasn’t ideal. Stuart (Lancaster) left and Eddie (Jones) came in and we got England back on track. If things go to plan Saturday, to win that amount in that period is a hell of an attempt.
“It also makes you appreciate how special and how hard titles are to come by. The teams you have to beat home and away and whatever else, it’s extremely tough and to get it would be incredible. This weekend is going to brilliant. Hopefully Ireland can do England a favour. They [Wales-Ireland] have always been tight matches… but England are scoring tries which is good. They are testing themselves.”
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments