Return of the survivor

13 April 2012

In the end, it had to be Lawrence Dallaglio. In seeking a replacement for the irreplaceable, England coach Clive Woodward needed a captain who would totally command the respect of his team-mates, a towering personality who could tackle the offfield responsibilities surrounding the world champions and a special player who might be able to lead by inspirational deeds.

There was a time, of course, when this would have been unthinkable, when Dallaglio, trapped by a tabloid honey sting into drugs confessions, was forced to give up a job which it seemed he must have lost forever.

Yet Woodward, the man who'd placed faith in him the first time around when he offered him the job in 1997, never gave up on Dallaglio and, in a way, today's announcement is a tribute to his determination that a trusted lieutenant would always have a major role in his revolution.

Six years on from their initial appointments, coach and captain have come full circle.

England can count themselves lucky to have someone so experienced to ensure a fairly seamless transition from the Martin Johnson era. Not only that but someone who, arguably, has been just as influential as Johnson or Johnny Wilkinson in the team's inexorable rise to top of the world over the past year.

Don't forget, it's less than two years ago that Dallaglio seemed to be destined to be cast aside as the young back-row lions started emerging and his form seemed to be fading.

Woodward dropped him after the 31-28 victory over New Zealand - the first of England's autumn hat-trick of wins over the Southern Hemisphere nations - and he could have sulked. But he instead roared back with performances which made him look like what Woodward reckons he still is on his day - the best No8 in the world.

His tours de force against New Zealand and Australia last summer set the platform for the World Cup assault and, even when his form in the group stages was indifferent by his standards, which earned another public rebuke from Woodward, he again responded with huge performances in the biggest games.

That is the mark of Dallaglio. Whenever he has been written off, he comes charging back.

They said, for instance, that he would never be the same player after the serious knee ligaments injury he picked up before the first Test in the Lions tour of 2001 which forced him to miss nine months of rugby with both club and country. Yet there have been times since when he has looked better than ever.

If he has anything to prove, then it's that he can be as good a captain as he has been a player.

In truth, he didn't too much wrong during his first 14-game spell as skipper but perhaps his reign has been judged unfairly on one major blunder. In the final game of the 1999 Five Nations with England leading Wales 31-25 at Wembley and a Grand Slam beckoning, his team were awarded a penalty with just 10 minutes remaining.

It was comfortably within Wilkinson's range but Dallaglio opted to go for a lineout, hoping to eat up more time and land a pushover try. Instead, England lost the ball, Scott Gibbs later weaved over for his fabled try, which Neil Jenkins converted, and the Slam dream was buried.

And, within weeks, so was Dallaglio. After confessing to taking and dealing in recreational drugs in a Sunday newspaper set-up, he stood down from the captaincy.

He always was and will be again a different leader to the glowering one. He will talk more and quite eloquently, too, and, of course, you never would have caught Johnson crying during the pre- match anthems as Dallaglio did before the World Cup semi-final.

Yet while he may be more emotional, the sheer, cold excellence of his forward foraging makes him, like his Leicester predecessor, someone who ultimately leads by example.

At 31 and with the back-row riches England have at their disposal, it is hard to imagine that Dallaglio will still be going in 2007 to lead England's defence of the World Cup. Perhaps by that time, the job will be ready for one of the younger brigade, like Wilkinson or Ben Kay, to take over.

For the moment, though, Woodward needed solidity and continuity. With other contenders for the job falling like flies through injury, Dallaglio's fitness and form stood out like a beacon. The man cannot be underestimated. His recent signing of a two-year contract with Wasps, while apparently happily taking a pay cut, indicates that it is achievement - not cash - which now drives him most.

By a happy irony, Dallaglio's first match as new captain will be against Italy, the land of his father Vincenzo, next month, just as his first appearance in an England shirt was 14 years ago. Playing for the national colts team against the young Azzurri, he experienced defeat and then the strange sensation of the Italians trying to snap him up to play for them.

"But deep down I knew that I had always dreamed of playing rugby for England at Twickenham," he noted last year, when he prepared to play against the Italians as vice-captain.

"The captaincy issue is often raised but it is not a prerequisite for being in the England team. I loved leading my country but I am very proud to be asked to be play any role for them."

Dallaglio is being rewarded for both excellence and loyalty. He made one terrible mistake four years ago and paid the price for it. But English rugby has long since forgiven and forgotten. Nobody deserves this second chance more.

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