JAMES HORWILL HAS has been stripped of the Australia captaincy ahead of Saturday’s Test against England at Twickenham.
Coach Ewen McKenzie has decided to relieve Horwill of his leadership duties for the Cook Cup clash in a bid to improve the lock’s individual performances, with Ben Mowen set to skipper the side.
Mowen, who could be lost to Australian rugby over a pay dispute, will lead the Wallabies for a second time, having guided the team to a 14-13 victory against Argentina in September, while Will Genia has lost the vice-captaincy to fly-half Quade Cooper.
Horwill, who succeeded Rocky Elsom as captain in 2011, has struggled for form and consistency in 2013, producing a number of sub-par displays during the Rugby Championships.
But McKenzie hopes less responsibility will help the 28-year-old rediscover his best form.
“There’s no doubting James is a world-class leader but it’s important he is putting his own personal performance first and playing to the level we know he is capable of on a weekly basis,” McKenzie said.
“By his own lofty standards, James would admit he hasn’t been at peak form. So, we’ve made the decision to this week remove the added pressures and responsibilities of being a captain so that he can focus entirely on bringing his ‘A’ game.
“Decisions like these are never easy, but sometimes you need to make hard choices for the long-term benefit of the individual. A strong individual performance will be the best contribution he can make to this game.
“However, like we do every week, we’ll re-assess all selection decisions for next week’s game against Italy after we focus on taking care of business against England on Saturday night.”
Meanwhile, Rob Simmons will miss the Spring Tour opener due to a knee injury, Sitaleki Timani replaces the Reds forward and will partner Horwill in the second row.
Ireland take on Australia at Lansdowne Road on Saturday, 16 November.
