Former England captain Chris Robshaw headed to Major League Rugby

Major League Rugby has added another marquee name in former England captain Chris Robshaw, who is headed to the San Diego Legion for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

The 34-year-old back-rower has won 66 caps for England, leading the team out 43 times — second only to Will Carling. He has played his entire club career at Harlequins and was twice named Aviva Premiership Player of the Year.

Robshaw will finish out 2020 at Harlequins, having signed a contract extension earlier this month to play the remainder of the disrupted Premiership season.

“Signing a player with Chris’ profile, talent and experience is another major step for us, both on and off the field,” San Diego Legion chairman Darren Gardner said in a statement. “Not only will Chris add a new and very significant dimension to our team, (president and CEO) Ryan (Patterson) and I believe Chris has the skill set and capability to transform how rugby is played across Major League Rugby as a whole.”

Robshaw joins former All Black Ma’a Nonu and Canadian international Josh Thiel in San Diego. Other name players to have already joined the league include South African prop Tendai (The Beast) Mtawarira (Old Glory DC), French back Mathieu Bastareaud and England back Ben Foden (both Rugby United New York). 

Robshaw said he had been looking at options in the MLR for the last 12 months.

“In the end, it really was an obvious and easy choice for me,” he said in a statement. “In a short period of time, SD Legion has built a reputation as being a world-class organization. I am very excited to being part of that organization and helping continue to advance its reputation both on and off the field.”

Harlequins head of rugby Paul Gustard paid tribute to Robshaw.

“He is held in exceptional levels of esteem by all players and all coaches and will be remembered as one of the greatest players to wear a Quins jersey … He will leave us for something new and different, but he will never be forgotten at The Stoop.”

“We are all motivated to help Chris and the team finish this season on a high and give him the Quins send off he has earned,” he added.

The North American pro league announced March 19 that it was calling off its third season five games in due to COVID-19.

The league operated with 12 franchises this season including the Toronto Arrows.

The Dallas Jackals and Los Angeles Giltinis (named after a premium cocktail) are joining the league next year. The Colorado Raptors withdrew in April.

The league is home to some 50 Canadians.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2020.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press