Captain does not have PIC until he has signed for the aircraft.
Who was the brain-box that paired a rookie captain with a rookie first officer? Given that circumstance and the weather it should have sent alarm bells ringing everywhere. The duty of a safe flight IMHO does not rest solely with the captain, the person who rostered the crew together must also shoulder responsibility.
Flight ops do have a responsibility for safe flight at least when I did it that's how I worked, I had this strange desire to see all my passengers and crews walk away from every landing. Then again I wouldn't allow such a pairing in the first place. The reasoning is also quite simple if nothing goes wrong there is no extra paperwork and no remorse. But then again I was never a soulless bean counter. Where is the SMS (Safety Management Systems) within the EU airline to allow this to happen or have they never heard of it. It should be part of their ops manuals. 'Risk assessment in all areas including flight operations'. Perhaps somebody needs to have a read.
You have to look at the quality of your systems. Your SOPs are there to stop this sort of thing happening not to encourage it. The Captain is the guy who carries the can for any mistakes made by the team that supports him.