Lawrence's new Wasps role
Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:07
Wasps's Lawrence Dallaglio, who retired after their Guinness Premiership Final victory over Leicester Tigers at the weekend, said he looked forward to his business role next season to consolidate the club's successes.
A tearful Dallaglio left the field shortly before the end of Saturday's 26-16 success over Leicester at Twickenham, where he lifted the trophy as captain.
The 2003 World Cup winner has won all seven Twickenham finals he has played for Wasps - four Premiership finals, two Heineken Cup finals and the EDF Energy Cup.
Dallaglio has been an intrinsic part of Wasps for nearly two decades and he will continue to work for the club in a business role next season.
"On the pitch we are in great health. We have a fantastic set of coaches, a fantastic squad and we will look to try and develop that," Dallaglio said.
"But there are bigger challenges off the field. Rugby is about to take another leap into the next level of professionalism.
"There are clubs around the country and in Europe playing in big stadiums, the tills ringing every week and the budgets are getting bigger.
"We want to be competitive. There is no doubt players make huge sacrifices to be at Wasps because they want to be in that environment, they want to win. But we need to be able to boast some of the best stadiums in the country, the best squad and the best stadium.
"One of the challenges I face is to make that happen and to bring the business in line with the excellence we have demonstrated on the field."
Dallaglio, the heartbeat of Wasps for 18 years and 339 games, led the club to their fourth title in six seasons with the triumph over the Tigers.
AFP
