Former England captain Lewis Moody has branded his successor Chris Robshaw as England's "talisman".

Robshaw found his captaincy criticised during the Autumn Internationals, but Moody, who was capped 71 times by his country, has condemned the harsh words.

"It is only really New Zealand and Australia that have that out and out seven, such as your Richie McCaw or David Pocock. Sometimes there are games when you will need one - as Richie has shown - but it is about the style that you want to play," Moody told Sky Sports News.

"I feel for Chris as if you look at the win over New Zealand and the Tests in the summer against South Africa, you can see that he has worked hard on his game and he does get the turnovers. Week in, week out he performs and that is what you want from your captain. He makes the tackles, he carries, carries and carries and covers the backsides of other people.

"He is not an all-singing, all-dancing seven that you would associate with New Zealand or Australia but he is a good player and a great leader who galvanises the team. It is always in the media about the seven but it is about the style you want to play. France and South Africa are two other leading sides that don't have one and it doesn't affect them."

Moody led England at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.