Well done, Steve Borthwick. The England manager has received a lot of criticism and removing the captaincy from a player is a difficult thing to do, especially when he is still in the squad. But selecting Maro Itoje as captain instead of Jamie George is absolutely the right decision.
I think I was the only person who asked for this change, but I think it's a really positive decision and one that English rugby needed, especially with all the rubbish that's been happening lately.
I have nothing against Jamie. I want to make that very clear. He is a very good player and this decision is hard for him.
But England have a history of losing games in the final minutes and I think the main reason has been that we keep taking off our captain with 20 minutes left. You need your captain at the end because that's when a game is won and lost.
When it comes to selecting a captain, the first point is that he must start and finish a match. The second is that they must be the first name on the team sheet. Thirdly, they have to be the captain of their club because that role is an art and doing it week in and week out is absolutely essential.
If that's your criteria and then you look at the England team, making Maro Itoje the new captain is a no-brainer and should have happened a long time ago. He meets all the requirements immediately.
Maro Itoje has been named England's new captain ahead of this year's Six Nations
Itoje is now a senior professional with the respect of his teammates, and Steve Borthwick made the right decision in choosing him as captain ahead of Jamie George.
Itoje could be the next Martin Johnson (left) and Lawrence Dallaglio (right) who starred in England's 2003 World Cup triumph.
Like Martin Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio, I don't remember Maro being replaced. For me, he is the first name in the England squad and, at his best, he is our only truly outstanding player. And he is captain week in and week out at Saracens.
You should also ask: is this a guy who is going to be on the covers or the last ones?
Well, Maro is going to be on the back pages because he is absolutely dedicated to his sport. He has all the respect of his teammates and fully deserves it, having played 88 international matches. Congratulations to him.
Now, the most important thing for Maro to do as captain is to be the standout player on the field. He has to be the player of the match, not because of his captaincy, but because of his way of playing.
That's what I always liked about Johnson and Dallaglio. They never forgot that the best way to be captain of a team was to lead by example. You can make decisions, but you have to be at your best.
I hope to see Itoje really fired up against Ireland now that he's captain. He has a real chance to turn this England team around. Now that we have chosen the right captain, we have a real chance of beating Ireland.
Overall, I think Steve has selected a really strong team and I'm pleased with some of the other changes he's made.
Dan Cole has been a fantastic player for England, but he is now 37 and there comes a time when you have to admit that someone's time has run out. I'm no longer sure he's the best player in his position, but he gets a huge pat on the back from everyone who loves the English team.
I am pleased with the other changes Borthwick has made to his team after a series of disappointing results at the Autumn Internationals.
Now I want to see Borthwick pick an exciting team that can play at a faster pace than in recent years.
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I'm also glad that Tom Willis was cast, but the only thing I'm disappointed about is that Henry Pollock isn't in the team, which is a big surprise to me.
I put him in my starting XV in my recent Mail Sport column because I think having a young firebrand in there would add a real extra edge to the game. I would have loved to see him take on the Irish, but that's Steve's decision and we're not going to fight about it. He just turned 20 on Tuesday, so his time will come.
I just hope Steve picks an exciting team now because I want England to play much faster than they have in recent years.
I think the match in Ireland will go down to the wire. But the good news is that, with 60 seconds left, the captain will be on the field. That alone is a big step forward for this team.