After watching the impact Horwill had as captain for the Reds this year, it's pretty clear this is a massive plus to our side. With Horwill as captain our chances of winning the world cup have improved significantly since last week.
The timing of it I thought worked very well for a few reasons.
I think the naming of the squad is the logical time to name the captain. Not during the world cup, not 2 years before the cup, not at the start of the test season but right now. At the same time as we decide which players are best for our squad, we should then look at the squad and decide the best person to lead the team based on the information available to the team (i.e. who have been our strongest players so far this year, who has shown leadership capabilities in the past, and is there a reason to get rid of the current captain. Horwill has been our best forward this year (I have been saying since the late rounds of the Super 15 that he would walk right into a world 15 on current form) He's shown be an amzing leader to the Reds this year, and is currently the most successful Aus captain at provincial rugby level for the last 8 years, and he embodies the success and spirit of the Reds (something that the people of Australia truly believe in!). Elsom did a solid job as captain, but he was always an interim captain in my eyes. He took the job when we clearly needed someone to lead from the front and show people that Aus had world class forwards and he was our best forward for a period. But for a world cup we need more than just an inspirational player, we need an inspirational leader.
In the end it has worked out quite well starting the season with Rocky as Captain. It really allowed Deans to continue to name Elsom in the side. If Rocky wasnt captain he would not have been in the starting side, which means he still wouldn't be match fit or in any form, which means he would be useless to us. As it is he was thrown in the deep end and now after 4 games we are seeing the benefits of that with last weeks game demonstrating that he is getting back to near best. Also If Horwill had captained at the start of the season he would probably have a few loses under his belt and the momentum and excitement behind his naming would be a distant memory.
Finally I think Elsom may now shine more than ever. He knows he's under a lot of pressure to keep his spot and has the burden of the captaincy off his shoulders, a burden that he never seemed quite comfortable with.
