Chris Robshaw will add to his 17 England caps against Australia on November 2 © PA Photos

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Chris Robshaw has been named England captain ahead of the autumn internationals.

England will play Australia on November 2 and then face Argentina and New Zealand. It appeared to be a two-horse race for who would lead England with Tom Wood, who captained England on their tour of Argentina in the summer, also in the mix.

But Stuart Lancaster has kept the faith with Robshaw, the man who was picked by the England coach when he first took on the top job before the 2012 Six Nations. Robshaw last captained England in the final match of the 2013 Six Nations, a game which saw the team crash to a heavy 30-3 defeat to Wales and signalled the end of their Grand Slam hopes.

Robshaw sat out England's tour in the summer as the management opted to rest the openside and before the start of the season, it was a possibility that he might not make England's first choice line-up. However, his early season form has been impressive, despite Harlequins' struggles, and he will now start in the back-row against Australia a week on Saturday.

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"The first and foremost criteria for captaincy is to be on the team sheet and Chris is in there on his playing ability," Lancaster said. "But on top of that he has a massive amount of respect within the squad and has led England well. Every team needs leaders; we are building a strong group and Chris is at the forefront of that leadership."

Robshaw added: "Every time you pull on that white shirt it's a privilege. It's a huge honour to be named captain and to lead your country. But I've always said it's not about who you are but what you do and I've got to make sure that I perform as a player first. We have some good leaders across the squad and I know we will support each other as we head into a massive game against Australia."

Congratulations @chrisrobshaw, who will captain England for the 2013 QBE Internationals. Huge honour, richly deserved pic.twitter.com/xAzt9pjvqI

— Official RFU (@Official_RFU) October 23, 2013