I think it's a great move. Horwill needs to concentrate on his own game first and foremost. I suspect we'll see an improved performance from him this week.
I expect Mowen will also give an extra 10% this week. He really is a guy that seems to relish the captain's arm band.
Moving forward I think it is important that we have a few potential captains to turn to. You need to have that confidence that you can change captains if players are out of form. I was actually starting to worry that big Kev had a mortgage on that jersey, simply because of his captaincy. The decision by Link is a big statement. It says that no player is safe, but equally that players who show leadership qualities will be rewarded.
People probably underestimate the importance (particularly at test level) of having a captain that can play the referee as well as they play the game. Gregan was great at it. Mowen seems to have the same ability. Kev doesn't have it. He's a "lead by example" captain, and lately he's not even doing that.
for the WC I see Mowen and Pocock as our captains, with Big Kev as our VC.