The 37-year-old captain made a remarkable comeback from total knee reconstruction four months ago to make his fourth World Cup tournament, but the one-time back-row blockbuster was a passenger during his side’s 41-10 collapse to Wales on Sunday.
And though the Canucks without Charron would be like England without Martin Johnson or South Africa without Corne Krige, it appears to be a prospect they will soon have to face after he admitted Test rugby is leaving him behind.
“It is up to the selectors but personally I am not happy with my game. International rugby is getting faster and faster but unfortunately I’m getting slower and slower,” he said.
“I did my best against Wales and that is all I can ask of myself but it’s getting to the point where it’s not enough and I seriously think I will have to re-look at my role in this team.
“It was difficult to come back to Test rugby after so long out and I was under duress out there. I’m not getting any younger.”
The immediate future holds no salvation either for Charron or Canada who face the All Blacks in Melbourne on Friday night, and a decision will need to be made over whether their talisman is more important than a combative flanker.
“We are certainly going to be up against it and we know that we are going to spend most of the time defending,” said Charron. “So we will need to show the traditional strong values of Canadian rugby to get through it.”
