Conor O’Shea: We must deliver but there is no reason to panic

It could have been O’Shea making those comments after watching his men lose at Irish but the Quins chief refuses to panic so early in the season and is confident Robshaw will prove he is the right man to retain the England captaincy for the autumn Tests by helping defeat the Scarlets at the Twickenham Stoop.

Director of rugby O’Shea said: “Chris has a lot of experience and has dealt with a lot of highs and lows and I have no doubt that when it is picked, he will be England captain.

“Chris has understood that he’s under the microscope all the time. This will be another part of the learning experience against the Scarlets. We left so many points out on the pitch against Irish that it was ridiculous but we are way off any sense of panic. It was horrible to lose two games at home and we know we have to deliver in what is a two-game blast in the Cup with Clermont away the following Sunday.”

Robshaw is side-stepping the England captaincy debate and recognises it will be his club form that ultimately decides his international fate.

“We’ve got a massive competition in the Heineken Cup,” said Robshaw, who was given the all-clear after taking a blow to the head against London Irish. “As soon as you start to look at things that are happening in three or four weeks’ time, I think you lose focus.

“With big teams like Scarlets and Clermont, when you go over there you have to be 100 per cent focused on the job in hand. We’ll deal with that and then see what happens.”