England coach Eddie Jones says stand-in skipper Chris Robshaw is a great leader

Eddie Jones has admitted Chris Robshaw forced him to rethink the former captain's importance to his England side.

Robshaw will captain England for the first time since World Cup 2015 in Sunday's non-cap international against the Barbarians, albeit sharing the role with co-skipper George Ford.

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The Harlequins flanker admitted fearing he would never lead England again after Stuart Lancaster's side became the worst-performing hosts in World Cup history.

Jones labelled Robshaw a "six-and-a-half" in a newspaper column during his stint as Japan boss during the World Cup - but has insisted the 30-year-old has since worked tirelessly to force him to revise that opinion.

"As soon as I saw watched him closely, he was a very good number six," Jones said of Robshaw.

"His greatest attribute is he works so hard off the ball, and he does the little things you don't see.

"He gets back, makes that tackle, dives on the ball, gets into that breakdown, cleans out, it's all the unglamorous work that he does.

"And he's exceptional at it, absolutely exceptional.

"And he has got such a good character, he is such a good bloke and I can't say that more sincerely. He has got such a giving way about him, he helps people all the time, he is courteous to everyone around him and he is a great leader within the team."

Robshaw's very Test future was on the line when Jones took control of England after the dismal World Cup showing. The Quins back-rower lost the captaincy and feared a total changing of the guard.

Jones installed Dylan Hartley as captain - but then took Robshaw for coffee and asked him to fight for his England career.

The low-key loose-forward quickly seized the lifeline, and almost two years on has returned to such an integral role as to receive the captaincy once more.

England must do without Hartley and his Northampton colleagues this weekend, with the Saints in Champions Cup play-off action, while the stars from Exeter and Wasps are tied up in Saturday's Premiership final.

Jones stressed Robshaw's captaincy elevation remains a one-shot deal - insisting the flanker's greatest impact comes from within the ranks, not spearheading them.

"This is a one-off game; he is playing a strong leadership role when we have got our best players available - it is just in a different way," said Jones.

"I don't think he is the best bloke at being at the front of the bus but he is a very good bloke at being in the middle part of the bus ensuring the front of the bus works with the back of the bus. And those leaders are super-important."