Rugby World Cup: The making of England rugby captain Chris Robshaw mesogastric

More than two decades on, the England captain is 100 days away from leading his country at the 2015 Rugby World Cup on home soil.

For a player pushed into the game by a single mother desperate for her three sons to burn off some energy, he calls it 'surreal.'

Struggling with dyslexia, rugby was a chance for Robshaw to express himself fully outside of the classroom -- where he dreaded being asked to read aloud in class.



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'Rugby proved to be my escape,' admits the 29-year-old.

Robshaw has overcome all manner of hurdles, the most tragic of which was the death of his father Alan of a heart attack when he was five.

But for critics of his on-field performance, this year's Six Nations Championship was seen as his coming of age.

Robshaw earned plaudits for not giving an inch in a prematch standoff with Wales and, from there, the player and his side went from strength to strength.

England ultimately missed out on the trophy to Ireland in a final-day thriller.

It was an uncomfortable ending for Robshaw, but he is no stranger to discomfort.

'As part of a team building exercise at Harlequins [his rugby club] a few of us did standup comedy,' he recalls. 'It was horrific -- there's no other way to describe it. It was about being comfortable in an uncomfortable environment.'

Robshaw turned the joke on himself with lines like, 'Did you hear the one about the dyslexic who turned up at a toga party dressed as a goat?' It warranted the odd laugh and, looking back, he says he was 'happy just to get through it.'

In the same vein, he has undertaken acting lessons. Not with an Oscar in mind but again to test his personal boundaries.

There may be more headline-grabbing players in the England squad but Robshaw toils and scraps, putting his body on the line for club and country.

'When Dad died it was extremely tough for me,' he revealed. 'Being young I don't remember it as much as some of the rest of the family (Robshaw is the middle of three brothers.) But it was really tough for me, my family and my Mum, who gave us the most amazing opportunities.

'I'm sure we gave her plenty of moments of challenges and she was forever taking me places. She gave me that belief but also that work ethic.'

Mum Patricia runs two nursing homes and is the first person to step in to cover if someone is sick. This, says her proud son, entails working a night shift despite having done a full day's work already, or walking five miles to one of the homes when her car was snowed in.

'That infused in me the work ethic and I think it's the same with my brothers,' adds Robshaw.

Older brother Alex, 31, is a city trader while James, 26, works in sports hospitality. The pair are also extreme skiers but, with Robshaw's rugby contract, when the family get together on a skiing holiday, he simply has to stay at home.

Robshaw attended the notoriously sporty Millfield School, whose diverse alumni range from the former FIA president Max Mosley to Desperate Housewives actress Nicollette Sheridan. The school is also known for its work with dyslexic students.

'The dyslexia and the rugby were my two reasons for going there,' admits Robshaw. 'As a kid I didn't appreciate it at the time being picked out but looking back it was extremely beneficial for me.

'They paired you up with similar people and you had that understanding. But I just didn't enjoy the study. For me, sport was my avenue.'

He tried his hand at it all before eventually settling on rugby, which led to him being offered a £4,000-a-year ($6,000) academy contract with Quins, the club he followed as a boy, on leaving school.

A litany of injuries followed -- a broken metatarsal, a broken fibula and anterior cruciate ligament damage. He feared his contract would be terminated and that his rugby career was over before it began.

But then director of rugby Dean Richards allayed his fears and kept the faith. In turn, Robshaw has repaid the club with a Premiership title and European silverware.

He remains a one-club man and he has seen the team's support grow from just one stand to 15,000 supporters each week, one of the best attendances in England.

Off the field, his partner is the soprano Camilla Kerslake, who was the first artist signed to Take That singer Gary Barlow's record label.

While they may look like a celebrity couple, Robshaw laughs at idea of Barlow popping over for dinner.

'Well, I wouldn't go that far,' he tells CNN, in an interview on behalf of England team sponsor BMW for their Sweet Chariot Road Show. 'But with my rugby and Camilla working in the music industry we do get to meet some cool people so that's good fun.'

But Robshaw, who met Kerslake when she was performing at a charity dinner in 2011, prefers the quieter life, walking his dog around London's Richmond Park or focusing on his burgeoning business empire.

He boasts a coffee and wine shop in Winchester, Black White Red, as well as a coffee shop at the Stoop where Harlequins play. He's also just launched an events company called Zeus.

And he is far from a silent partner in it: 'I read about a former NFL player (Junior Bridgeman) who now owns like 100 Wendy's franchises in the U.S.

'He would get stuck in and work washing the toilets or flipping burgers. So I try to get stuck in when I can, packaging coffee so I get a better understanding of how it works. I appreciate rugby can't last forever.'

So don't be surprised to find yourself served by a World Cup-winning captain if things go to plan later this year.

For Robshaw, it will be a first World Cup. He made England's initial squad of players for the last tournament in 2011 but missed the cut.

So what will it mean to lead his country in a home World Cup, which gets under way on 18 September, and potentially lift that trophy?

'Lifting the trophy would mean the world to me. We're definitely aiming to do that. The boys who've played at past World Cups have told me what an incredible spectacle it is. I can't wait.'

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