Wednesday 2 December 2015 16:41, UK
England full-back Mike Brown has offered his support to captain Chris Robshaw but admits it will be up to new head coach Eddie Jones as to whether or not his Harlequins team-mate continues in the role.
Jones was critical of Robshaw's captaincy skills in his newspaper column during the World Cup but the Australian has had to backtrack slightly, stating he will speak to the player before deciding on whether he should remain as skipper.
Brown insists all he and the England team-mates can do is focus on their role as players rather than matters beyond their control, although he maintains it is exciting to have the challenge of a new head coach to impress.
"Chris Robshaw is a brilliant leader and I think he has done a tremendous job for club and country when he has been captain," Brown told Sky Sports News.
"Chris is just focused on Quins and being his usual brilliant self around the boys. He works hard and leads by example, as he does as a captain.
"For us as players, it is about focusing on getting in the team first and foremost.
"Once Eddie has picked his team then he will look at [who to make] captain. We are just focused on getting better as players and getting into the team.
"As a player, to see where I stand and what he wants me to do and how to get better, that is part of the excitement as a player."
Brown is now one of the most experienced players in the England squad, with 43 caps to his name.
The Quins star played down suggestions he could be chosen by Jones to succeed Robshaw as captain of the national side, though, with his primary concern to continue his development as a player.
"I need to keep proving I should be playing for England, there is so much strength [in depth] and competition for players," added Brown.
"For me, it is just about keeping my head down at the club to try and show Eddie what I am about.
"That is what I will continue to do, I am just trying to get better."
With Stuart Lancaster having left the England set-up, the future of the coaching staff he brought in remains unclear.
But Brown was keen to praise the contribution of the likes of Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt and the influence they have had on him as a player.
"Those coaches, so far as I am concerned, have done a brilliant job. I have learnt so much from them," he said.
"I have to be thankful for what they have done for me as a player. Obviously, they picked me to play for England, which was my dream.
"Whoever Eddie thinks should be in those roles, he will put in there and obviously he has England's best interest at heart.
"For me it is about whoever is best to take us forward and to win things, that is what we are in the game for."
Brown was speaking at the launch of the 2016 Old Mutual Wealth Series that will see England take on South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia, live on Sky Sports.
