Johnson must change captain for up and coming Six Nations

England rugby manager Martin Johnson selected his elite squad for the Six Nations this week, but did not name a captain. “We’ll name our captain as we get closer to the tournament” said Johnson. But will he keep faith with Saracens second row Steve Borthwick or look to someone else to lead out England against Wales on 6 February and, quite possibly, into their 2011 World Cup campaign in New Zealand?

The role of a captain is to motivate and lead his fellow players using his experience to make the right decisions at the right time. He must also be able to quietly influence the referee both on and off the field and listen to his tactical decision makers – the half backs. But, above all, he must gain the respect of his fellow team mates by putting in consistently outstanding performances on the pitch – his place in the team must be secure.

This is where Johnson will have difficulty selecting Borthwick as his captain. Borthwick’s place in the team is not guaranteed – he is not the best second row in England at the moment and in my opinion is behind Simon Shaw, Courtney Lawes and Nick Kennedy. Assuming veteran Shaw will play, Johnson must decide between whether to blood 2o year old Lawes or keep faith with Borthwick. It will not be an easy decision for Johnson but if there’s any area where he is an expert, it should be analysing the strengths and weaknesses of his second row.

Borthwick’s influence on the field as England captain has been questionable. He must take at least some responsibility for England’s dire failure to replicate the coaches’ strategy out on the pitch in the autumn . In addition, England continue to give away penalties at the breakdown so either Borthwick has not been listening to referees or his team mates are not listening to him. He has not led from the front or put in any outstanding performances either, so what other options could Johnson explore?

One player who did put in outstanding performances in the autumn was Leicester flanker Louis Moody. His place in the team is secure and many players in the current England setup see him as their on-field leader. Moody has matured as a player over the past couple of years and has cut down the number of penalties he gives away without losing the frenetic pace at which he plays. However, Moody lacks experience as a captain and has only skippered his club side twice despite holding down a regular place in the starting XV. To promote him to England captain would perhaps be risky.

Wing Mark Cueto and full back Delon Armitage definitely tick the box in terms of putting in consistently good performances in an England shirt and I think their places in the starting XV should be secure. However, as with Moody, both lack the necessary experience to captain their country – Armitage only has one season of international rugby behind him and Cueto has not captained his club Sale. It is also very difficult to skipper a side from wing or full back.

Johnson has two further candidates which tick all the boxes necessary to lead their country: World Cup winning fly half Jonny Wilkinson and Harlequins No. 8 Nick Easter. Wilkinson has experience of the captaincy at Newcastle and is an excellent communicator but he is more comfortable following orders than giving them. His responsibilities as England goal kicker and number one tactical decision maker may suffer if he is given the additional mantel of the captaincy.

Easter, the current Harlequins captain, is currently the best No. 8 in England and has been the rock of the national side’s pack for the past three years. His position at the back of the scrum allows him to not only be equally close to his front five as to his half backs to both relay instructions and listen to the tactical decision makers, but also, vitally, close enough to the referee to exert maximum influence. But, most importantly, he has the respect of his team mates gained through leading from the front on a consistent basis at international level. If Martin Johnson wants to get the best out of his team for the up and coming Six Nations championship, he must name Easter as captain to prove he is picking all his players on current form.