Chris Robshaw to retain England captaincy for duration of Six Nations

Chris Robshaw has been confirmed as England captain for the rest of the RBS 6 Nations.

The Harlequins flanker led England to victories over Scotland and Italy, having initially been appointed for the opening two rounds of the championship.

Interim head coach Stuary Lancaster confirmed this morning that Robshaw will continue in the role, with England's next fixture against Wales at Twickenham on February 25.

Lancaster said: "Chris has stepped into the role well and led a new team in two tough away fixtures.

"He is one of many leaders we could have chosen against Scotland and Italy but he has shown on and off the field the qualities required to captain a side.

"We feel it is right to make a call now that Chris will lead England for the rest of the Six Nations"

Robshaw was England's most inexperienced captain since Nigel Melville in 1984 when he won only his second cap against Scotland at Murrayfield.

Robshaw said: "Captaining the team against Scotland was the proudest day of my life and to get the chance again against Italy was fantastic.

"To do so at Twickenham would be something else and I'm thankful to the coaches for giving me that opportunity and to all the lads for helping me over the last few weeks.

"For now I'm just focusing on training hard and helping us get ready to play a strong Welsh team."

Lancaster has made 16 players available for club duty this weekend, including Manu Tuilagi, Toby Flood and Courtney Lawes who are all coming back from injury.

Ben Morgan is available for the Scarlets after making a substantial impact off the bench against Italy last weekend.

Tom Palmer - the only member of England's starting XV to be released for club duty - is set to feature for Stade Francais against Toulon.

:: England players released for club duty this weekend: M Brown (Harlequins), C Clark (Northampton Saints), P Doran Jones (Northampton Saints), T Flood (Leicester Tigers), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), J Marler (Harlequins), L Mears (Bath Rugby), B Morgan (Scarlets), T Palmer (Stade Francais), C Sharples (Gloucester Rugby), J Simpson (London Wasps), M Stevens (Saracens), M Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), J Turner-Hall (Harlequins), T Waldrom (Leicester Tigers), R Webber (London Wasps).