James Horwill hurt when stripped of the Wallabies captaincy © Getty Images

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James Horwill has opened up for the first time about losing the Wallabies' captaincy, declaring he wants to regain the armband from Ben Mowen.

Horwill remains disappointed to have been stripped of leadership duties two weeks ago in a shock move by Ewen McKenzie that he didn't see coming, but the abrasive second-row accepts his form was an issue and says the blow - as painful as the three serious injuries he has suffered in his 45-Test career - has helped him to put his game back on track.

Horwill was replaced as captain for the 20-13 loss to England at Twickenham, and McKenzie was also set to bench him after ineffective displays in The Rugby Championship. Horwill started only because Queensland Reds team-mate Rob Simmons was sidelined by a knee injury, and he has responded with more powerful performances in the opening two Tests on the European tour.

"I'm not going to hide the fact I was disappointed," Horwill said. "I love what I do and I love being captain of my country. [But] captaining is always about the team, and that's the way you have to look at it."

With the Wallabies losing the British & Irish Lions series 2-1 and then winning just two of the first seven Tests of McKenzie's reign, Horwill felt he was guilty of paying too much attention to the team's problems instead of his own game.

"I knew myself I wasn't happy with the way I'd been playing, but I guess you can look at it in that sense [being stripped] has given me the opportunity to worry about myself a little bit more," he said. "I think maybe my focus did go away from myself individually, and I was more focused on 'what can I do to get the team going'. I hate losing. Maybe that was the thing.

"I might reflect that there were things I could have done differently. It's allowed me to be selfish in my preparations and worry about the way I need to prepare physically and mentally to get right to play."

McKenzie, who has used three captains in his short tenure, is in no rush to settle on a long-term skipper, but Horwill is adamant he wants his job back.

"I'd love to captain the country again," he said. "I take great pride and put a lot of effort into doing it. It's not something I take lightly. It's a huge responsibility and something I did enjoy doing.

"That's not the priority. My priority is to get my form back and win for the team."