England winger Mike Brown has praised Harlequins team-mate Chris Robshaw as a "brilliant leader" ahead of facing France.
Robshaw has been England captain since Stuart Lancaster took over as head coach in February 2012 and has lead the side to famous wins over France in Paris and against New Zealand.
England have so far won their first two matches of the Six Nations this year, with Robshaw named man of the match after victory over Ireland in Dublin last Sunday.
Brown has now established himself as part of the England side and has complimented Robshaw for his character and leadership for both club and country.
"Chris has stayed the same person, even with the captaincy. He still works hard and is a brilliant leader and does for England exactly what he does for Quins," said Brown.
"It's great to have a leader like that who sets the example and you follow. When he needs to say something he will. He's a great bloke as well - I've known him since I was 18.
"When we were in the academy we were asked who would we pick as a future captain and we all chose Chris. Now he's England captain.
"He was exactly the same then as he is now - he leads by example and works so hard on and off the field. He's a great character and always has a smile on his face.
"When he says something you listen and that's something he's had throughout his rugby career. It shows the type of bloke he is that he can step up and lead the team after just one cap. He's a world class player and he's shown that recently."
France will visit Twickenham in two weeks time after their worst start in the Six Nations, their losses to Italy and Wales meaning they are the only side yet to win a match in this year's championship. Brown though is wary of the threat France will pose as England remain on course for a Grand Slam.
"France haven't had the best of starts, but they're a brilliant team who on their day can beat anyone in the world," added Brown.
"Look at how many times they've beaten New Zealand when everyone's written them off, so they'll be a tough, tough test.
"They have brilliant players throughout their squad and will be a wounded animal, which makes them very dangerous. But the boys are looking forward to it and hopefully we can do a job. It will be a massive test."
Comments
rugby_rockstar says...
Best thing England can do about the round 3 match is focus on their mistakes from the last two games. The set peice wasn't great vs Ireland and our attack against scotland gifted them a stupid try at the end of the match. Lets focus on eliminating those problems while keeping our work rate up to the same high standard.
Posted 09:24 13th February 2013
Melkiwi says...
@NHsaints what November test? England were the first team to beat the abs on a November test since 04. But agreed the French are just so unpredictable.
Posted 07:54 13th February 2013
ArmchairGeneral says...
Genuine praise for Chris though. Will be really impressed when the Sarries / Leicester etc non Quinns players say the same.
Posted 20:22 12th February 2013
NHsaints says...
@Isograford make that 3 times, one in a world cup, one in a november test and one in dunedin on a tour. However yes they are capable of beating any side on their day and we don't want to underestimate them.
Posted 19:20 12th February 2013
Isograford says...
Ummm, looking at the facts, France haven't beaten New Zealand all that much, it's another one of those perception myths.
France have won a grand total of twice since 2000, while the All Blacks have racked up twelve wins in that time.
Posted 17:45 12th February 2013
APV1 says...
More sound-bites...
Posted 15:17 12th February 2013