“But he was the one who, when the rain was falling and the mud was thick, you wanted by your side. He didn’t have to say much – it was a case of, ‘I’ll go first, and you boys follow me.'”
When Quins offered him a chance with their academy in 2005, that same attitude made an immediate impression on the established stars.
“In pre-season Dean Richards had taken over,, external so we had a fair idea there would be some hard graft,” says Nick Easter, the club’s back-row stalwart and former England number eight.
“We were doing 800 metre runs. [Former Springbok skipper] Andre Vos was there, clearly a very fit man, and the leader of the club at the time.
“This kid Robshaw rocks up, and he started lapping us other back rows. He’s not particularly quick in a one-off sprint, but he could just keep on going and going and going.
“The lactic acid seems to disappear from his body as soon as he creates it. I stood there watching with coach John Kingston, and we just looked at each other – ‘Look at this kid’s engine!’ And then he started to lap Andre Vos.”
Over the subsequent nine seasons Easter and Robshaw have become a complementary fixture in the back row for Quins, partners in the side’s leadership group and pivotal in O’Shea’s vision of what the club should become after the Bloodgate scandal that presaged the Irishman’s arrival.
Easter is keen the world sees an accurate picture of his skipper – ribbed in the dressing-room for his questionable taste in music and clothes, nicknamed ‘Sir Robbo’ for his upbringing, a snorer so loud he is allotted his own room while other team-mates share on away trips.
“He does have a penchant for champagne on nights out,” says Easter. “He doesn’t go for the local beer. He pays on his mum’s credit card as well. He’s quite tight with his money, and he could improve his dressing-room banter.”
But he is unequivocal when it comes to Robshaw’s contribution on the pitch, even as others continue to deride a perceived lack of star quality.
“In my opinion they can’t know much about the game. They are the sort of people who only notice a stand-out 30 metre run or the big hit, not what really goes on – the stuff that allows a team to get quick ball, that stops a team being turned over, the legwork, the carries for another yard, the double tackles. All the stuff that keeps a team going.
“He has this constant willingness to improve. It’s a testament to him knowing at each time what his limits are, but that he wants to stretch those limits. His handling skills have improved greatly, his decision-making – when to pass, when not to pass – is better.
“Chris hardly makes an error, that’s the thing, yet he gets involved so many times. The amount of times he gets over the ball should make him a penalty machine, but he has made sure it hasn’t.”
A couple of other notable statistics for you. In this year’s Six Nations, Robshaw made more tackles (85) than any other Englishman. In three matches alone he hit 30 rucks.
“When you look at the all-round package, he’s an unbelievable rugby player who is practically top of everything,” says O’Shea.
“If you tell him he’s got something to work on – I won’t call it a weakness – he will go away and work on it harder than any other person.