This guide to the men’s England rugby union captains looks rather different to our selection of the best England rugby players of the professional era. Lawrence Dallaglio, Owen Farrell and Martin Johnson appear on both lists, but leading a rugby side requires more than strength in the tackle and skill on the ball – indeed, many legends of the game have never been near a captain’s armband.

Not every player who’s led the national team over the last three decades is on this list. Many England stars, such as Jason Leonard, Jason Robinson and Mike Tindall, have deputised for the odd game here and there. Jonny Wilkinson, meanwhile, was named skipper in 2004, only for a succession of injuries to keep him out of action.

The England rugby union captains below have all been appointed to lead the team for Five/Six Nations campaigns, overseas tours or World Cups – to varying degrees of success…

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Men’s England rugby union captains

Jamie George (2024-)

Jamie George was appointed England rugby union captain for the 2024 Six Nations following Saracens teammate Owen Farrell’s decision to take a break from international rugby.

After Farrell subsequently ruled himself out of England contention by moving to Racing 92, the 33-year-old hooker kept the armband for this summer’s matches against Japan and New Zealand. The experienced British & Irish Lions forward is expected to lead the team into England’s autumn fixtures against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan.

Owen Farrell (2018-2023)

Owen Farrell may have broken into the England team at a young age, but his combative playing style and highly attuned rugby brain ensured his leadership qualities stood out from the off.

Having been one of Dylan Hartley’s vice-captains, Farrell was full-time skipper by the time England made their run to the 2019 World Cup final. Questions have been asked about his demeanour when talking to referees, but he’s the kind of leader other players love to follow into battle. His 48 matches as England rugby union captain put him second in the all-time list behind Will Carling.

Dylan Hartley (2016-2019)

Several eyebrows were raised when Eddie Jones appointed Dylan Hartley as his on-field lieutenant, but the England head coach’s decision to look past the hooker’s disciplinary record was quickly vindicated.

Hartley led the team to a record-equalling 18 consecutive victories, as England won a grand slam and a Six Nations title in Jones’ first two years in charge. He ultimately missed out on England’s trip to the 2019 World Cup final but his win ratio as captain is second only to Martin Johnson’s.

Chris Robshaw (2012-2015)

Remarkably, Harlequins’ Chris Robshaw had just one England cap when he was appointed England rugby union captain but, in hindsight, that may have been part of his appeal. Stuart Lancaster, appointed as interim head coach for the 2012 Six Nations, had the challenge of rebuilding the team after a World Cup campaign that had misfired both on and off the field, and Robshaw was a key component of his exciting young side.

Robshaw led the side throughout Lancaster’s time in charge, and went on to captain England 42 times. It was a period of near misses, however, with four second places in the Six Nations, and most (in)famously, that pool stage exit from a home World Cup.

Lewis Moody (2010-2011)

Having played in all seven games of England’s run to the Rugby World Cup run and also a couple of British & Irish Lions tests, Lewis Moody was one of the star names in Martin Johnson’s England team.

He was an obvious choice to step up to the captaincy when Steve Borthwick was injured against Scotland during the 2010 Six Nations, and – aside from being ruled out of the following year’s championship – Moody was Johnson’s first choice as skipper up to the end of the 2011 World Cup. Alas, England’s journey to the quarter-finals is remembered more for what happened off the field than on it, and Moody retired from the game after the tournament.

Steve Borthwick (2008-2010)

Along with Martin Johnson (the man who gave him the armband), Steve Borthwick is one of two players on this list of England rugby union captains who’ve gone on to coach the national team. Johnson was well aware of the leadership qualities of a player he’d briefly partnered in England’s second row, saying at the time that, “Steve is a good leader who always prepares thoroughly for matches at club and international level.”

Borthwick led the team to second and third places in the Six Nations, and his 21-match stint puts him at joint seventh in the all-time list alongside Grand Slam-winner (and current World Rugby chairman) Bill Beaumont. He lost the job in the summer of 2010, when Johnson decided not to recall him after injury.

Phil Vickery (2002-2008)

World Cup-winning tighthead Phil Vickery led England on numerous occasions – including a 2002 tour to Argentina – before getting the job full-time. Head coach Brian Ashton appointed him as England rugby union captain at the start of 2007, a role Vickery kept through two Six Nations and a run to the World Cup final – along with Ben Kay, Jason Robinson and Jonny Wilkinson, he belongs to an elite group of England players who’ve started two World Cup finals.

Related: England kits through the years…

He was subsequently part of the British & Irish Lions team that toured South Africa in 2009, and retired from the game in late 2010.

Martin Corry (2005-2006)

Leicester Tigers great Martin Corry was part of England’s triumphant World Cup squad in 2003, and twice toured with the British & Irish Lions. But he was unfortunate that his ascension to the rank of England rugby union captain came at a difficult time for the team.

New head coach Andy Robinson had the thankless task of rebuilding the side after the unprecedented success of Clive Woodward’s tenure, and he appointed Corry in March 2005 after injuries to first picks Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson. Only eight players have captained England more times than Corry, but – through no fault of his own – this was not a vintage era for the side.

Martin Johnson (1999-2003)

Is there anything left to be said about Martin Johnson, the England rugby union captain who led two Lions tours (including the legendary 1997 victory in South Africa) and remains the only man from the northern hemisphere to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.

Inheriting the armband after Lawrence Dallaglio’s unfortunate encounter with the tabloids (see below), Johnson became the talismanic leader at the heart of Clive Woodward’s World Cup-winning pack. The RFU hoped he might inspire the next generation as England manager, but – despite a Six Nations victory in 2011 – he resigned after the team’s disappointing performance at that year’s World Cup.

Lawrence Dallaglio (1997-2004)

Lawrence Dallaglio has been described by his former Wasps boss Warren Gatland as “the best captain that I’ve ever been involved with”, and – had history panned out slightly differently – it could have been him raising the World Cup aloft.

Dallaglio was Clive Woodward’s first choice as England rugby union captain when he took charge of the team in 1997, but the number 8 lost the job in the wake of a 1999 sting. He famously remained a mainstay of that all-time-great side, however, and briefly led the side again after Johnson hung up his international boots in 2003.

Phil de Glanville (1996-1997)

With Will Carling and Jeremy Guscott typically picked ahead of him in the centres, Phil de Glanville was a surprise choice to lead the national side. But England head coach Jack Rowell knew the player well from their Bath days, and controversially broke up the successful Carling/Guscott axis to get his new skipper into the team.

The team won six out of eight matches during de Glanville’s spell as England rugby union captain, and he lost the job when Woodward appointed Dallaglio in his place.

Will Carling (1988-1996)

Appointed at just 22 years old and the longest serving England rugby union captain in history, Carling’s 55 tests coincided with a team stamping its authority as the dominant force in northern hemisphere rugby.

He led his team to a trio of grand slams and a World Cup final, and achieved a level of celebrity nobody else on this list – not even the Class of 2003 – could match. He was sacked weeks ahead of the 1995 World Cup after describing the RFU committee as “57 old farts”, but was reinstated after a national outcry. He quit the role a year later.

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