Nick Evans compares Chris Robshaw to Richie McCaw

Robshaw (l) is Harlequins captain

Harlequins fly-half Nick Evans has likened Chris Robshaw's leadership to that of New Zealand's World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw.

The Quins skipper is a leading contender to captain England in the upcoming Six Nations.

Evans told BBC London 94.9: "He's Richie McCaw-like, in the way that he leads by example.

"He's not one of those guys that will mouth off but he leads by example round the field."

The former All Blacks international continued: "He's one of those guys that you need in the pack when things are going tough. He's always the guy that puts his hand up.

"He showed that especially in the Northampton game on Friday. He really stood out even though we were going backwards."

Robshaw has been named alongside team-mates Joe Marler, Jordan Turner-Hall and Mike Brown in England's 32-man elite player squad for the Six Nations.

Harlequins are preparing for Saturday's Heineken Cup match against Gloucester, having won the reverse fixture 28-9 at Kingsholm in November.

Evans said: "We've parked the Premiership for a while, top of the table there, so looking forward to a couple of really exciting games in the Heineken Cup and hopefully set ourselves up for a quarter-final if we can.

"Every year you come across a team you play lots. Last season it seemed to be Wasps and this season it seems to be Gloucester. I think both teams will know each other inside out.

"We're really looking forward to getting back to the Stoop, seven of our last 10 games have been away so we're looking forward to getting back there and taking on a team that will be smarting after losing to Worcester."

You can hear more from Nick Evans and Harlequins director of rugby Conor O'Shea on "The Scrum" on BBC London 94.9FM on Thursday at 2100 GMT. (Also available on iPlayer and London Rugby Union Podcast)