Dallaglio: Jonno will provide leadership
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:38
Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio says he believes his former teammate Martin Johnson is the ideal man to get England back on track.
Speaking at the annual Obolensky lecture in London on Tuesday night, Dallaglio said that the recent off-the-pitch problems experienced by the national team, particular in New Zealand, were unacceptable and something that Johnson would, rightly, certainly not stand for during his reign.
During their recent tour of New Zealand four England stars were subjected to a police investigation after a local woman made unproven allegations following a night out, much to the embarrassment of the entire squad.
"Martin Johnson knows what it takes to win," said Dallaglio.
"He knows that if you lose by 37 points in New Zealand you don't go out on the town.
"The best winners are those who hate losing. There are some standards that are non-negotiable that have been missing from the England team over the last few years."
With a number of big leaders, such as Dallaglio, having either recently retired from the game, or unavailable through injury, their has been a real sense of inexperience and leadership in the national team.
While experienced Steve Borthwick was in charge of the team during their tour, there were few others in New Zealand who could seemingly provide the team with the needed direction.
Leadership, according to Dallaglio, was the key to much of their success during the Sir Clive Woodward era and clearly therefore what is sorely lacking at the moment.
"We developed leaders in specialist areas and leadership was clearly an integral part of our success in 2003. We had leaders and personalities all over the pitch," Dallaglio said.
"This is the area in which I think England have had, and continue to have, concerns. It is an area that is really worrying for me.
"One area that is key to this reputational risk is the need for players to have interests outside of the sport to provide the necessary balance and perspective,
"Rugby players are not machines. The balance between work and life is also key for me in a career."
