Chris Robshaw directing his team.© GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images

Chris Robshaw has spoken of his respect for the England Lionesses and their accomplishment on football's global stage as the Rugby World Cup countdown continues.

Mark Sampson's squad set a towering example at the recent Women's World Cup, obtaining a third place finish after finally managing to defeat Germany for the first time in more than 20 attempts following an heart breaking semi-final defeat against Japan.

Robshaw is just two months away from leading the England rugby team into a World Cup campaign on home soil, with the 45-man squad now in Colorado for a fortnight's intense altitude training camp. The Lionesses' success and never-say-die attitude attracted millions of new fans, something of which the England captain hopes he can replicate with the rugby team.

"A lot of us watched it, myself included," Robshaw said. "We are so proud of them. A lot of guys probably wouldn't watch women's football, but when these major sporting events come, they grab everyone in. Everyone with a sporting interest is pulled in.

"I was at Wimbledon last Saturday speaking to Jimmy Anderson. You can feel how much excitement there is around it and how it galvanises them, and it does increase their performance so much. Hopefully, we can do a similar thing with pulling people into our sport.

"Any time you get to do anything for your country, it's an honour. Whatever you do for your country, you share that bond. It's about trying to deliver to your best."

England's training squad has arrived to Denver, where preparations will continue ahead of August warm-up Tests against France before head coach Stuart Lancaster announces his final 31-player World Cup group.

That will mean misery for those players who fail to make the cut, and skipper Robshaw can empathise, having missed out on selection prior to the last World Cup in 2011. He was also a surprise omission from the 2013 British and Irish Lions squad.

"All the guys want to be in that final 31, but unfortunately it doesn't add up," he added. "I know what it's like to do all the work and get the final tap on the shoulder to be told you are not going. For those who don't go, I've got a lot of sympathy.

"But it is a tough business, and it does make the squad competitive and challenge each other in the right way to make us even better. You never want to go through the tough times, but unfortunately they happen in life. It's about making sure that if something does happen, you react in the right way. That's the way about going about business or your job."

Robshaw will become only the third England captain to lead his country into a Rugby World Cup in Britain after Will Carling (1991) and Martin Johnson (1999) when the tournament starts in mid-September.

It means the Harlequins flanker will be under a fierce spotlight, but he is savouring the challenge awaits him.

"As a captain, it's about doing what is best for the team. It doesn't always have to be your idea, it's about getting the best outcome and challenging each other in the right way.

"When you win and when things go well, in life it's generally pretty smooth isn't it. Things tick along.

"But when all of a sudden things change and questions are asked and you need to adapt, you need to think on your feet, and that's when you see what you are about and what your team is about.

"I've gone through that a couple of times - of highs and lows and different scenarios. Hopefully, we will be ready for things thrown at us this summer."