Dallaglio handed England captaincy
Wed 28 January, 2004 15:42
LONDON (Reuters) - Lawrence Dallaglio has been named England captain for the world champions' opening Six Nations match against Italy next month.
The 31-year-old back-row forward took over the captaincy from Martin Johnson, who announced his international retirement last week.
Dallaglio was coach Clive Woodward's first choice as captain in 1997 and he led his country 14 times before standing down in 1999 after being the victim of a tabloid newspaper "sting".
"I was in the fortunate position of having a lot of outstanding players to consider for the captaincy role to follow in the footsteps of Martin Johnson who was always going to be such a hard act to follow, both on the pitch and in his leadership qualities," Woodward said in a statement on the English Rugby Football Union's (RFU) official website.
"Many players have proven to me that they could do the job and in my opinion Lawrence is the stand-out choice for Italy. I am really pleased for him and I am confident he will be excellent in the role."
Dallaglio was the only member of England's squad to play every minute of last year's victorious World Cup campaign and he gave an inspirational performance in the 20-17 win over hosts Australia in the final.
"I'm very pleased to accept this responsibility," Dallaglio said. "It's a huge honour and privilege and Martin has certainly set a high standard. He is a world class player and is a great loss to England but I respect his decision to retire."
Woodward named a 43-man squad for his team's Six Nations defence, which begins in Rome on February 15.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackage...5§ion=news
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