Title would cap Robshaw year, says Healey
HARLEQUINS captain Chris Robshaw will crown the most remarkable individual season ever if he leads the south Londoners to their first Premiership title tomorrow at Twickenham, says former England star Austin Healey.
In a whirlwind few months Robshaw has been plucked from the international wilderness to become the central figure in Stuart Lancaster’s new-look England side, skippering them throughout a watershed Six Nations campaign.
That Test success has been matched domestically, where the 25-year-old flanker helped Quins to finish top of the table and received personal recognition by being named Premiership player of the year.
Mighty Leicester stand between Robshaw and immortality and, while former Tigers back Healey says he would relish seeing Quins give their captain a Hollywood ending, he expects his old team’s pedigree to prove decisive.
“The romantic in me says I’d like to see Quins do it because they’ve never done it before,” Healy, a pundit for broadcaster ESPN, told City A.M. “I think Robshaw would go down in history as having had the greatest season, an unbelievable year, from not even being in England’s World Cup squad to being captain and then leading the side that won the Premiership. It’s a great story. Having said that, my head tells me that Leicester will win.”
Healey expects another tight finale to match the nail-biters of recent years, of which Leicester have been involved in the last eight.
Quins, however, are tasting the pressure and magnitude of the situation for the first time in their history – a factor four-time winner Healey believes could be pivotal.
“The fact Leicester have been there will count for a lot,” he added. “For Quins, it’s a massive achievement and they shouldn’t underestimate where they are – one step away from a defining moment, not just in their season but in their history.
“It’s a really, really big day for Quins and it’s a question of how they react to that. Coaches will tell them it’s a big day in the club’s history and when you hear that it can change the mentality of a side, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.”
Healey calls Quins’ 31-24 Heineken Cup triumph at Toulouse in November “possibly performance of the season” and cites it as proof they are more than capable of upsetting more established opposition.
He also expects them to prepare to face a Leicester side marshalled by George Ford at fly-half, with erstwhile England No10 Toby Flood struggling to recover from injury.
“I think they’ll give him as long as possible,” forner scrum-half Healey said of Flood. “I can’t see him starting; I think it would be a really, really big ask.”
ESPN will televise live and exclusive coverage of the Aviva Premiership Final tomorrow. Visit espn.co.uk/tv for details