Robert Kitson Rugby
England have a new captain, whatever the result of the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) inquiry into allegations that Lawrence Dallaglio took and supplied illegal drugs may be. Martin Johnson, the captain of British club side Leicester, will lead his country on the forthcoming tour of Australia and the subsequent World Cup with or without Dallaglio at his shoulder.
Dallaglio could yet be back as a player before the end of the Australian tour, but Johnson is now the man with chief responsibility for English rugby’s dreams.
Brian Baister, chair of the RFU management board, has confirmed his appointment until the end of the World Cup, by which time Dallaglio’s future will be much clearer than it remains this week.
At 29, three years older than Dallaglio, Johnson is perhaps the only man big enough in every sense to fill the gaping hole left by recent events.
The challenge now for him and Clive Woodward, the England coach, is to ensure that the team’s morale stays buoyant.
Under Dallaglio England had unquestionably developed into a tough side to beat, give or take their aberration in their game against Wales at Wembley last month when Scott Gibbs’s try wrecked their grand slam ambitions.
Of his games in charge the best win was unquestionably the 13-7 win over South Africa in December; the most disappointing a toss-up between the recent Welsh nightmare and England’s poor showing in Paris last season.
He was criticised either side of Christmas when statistics showed his tackle count to be vastly inferior to his back-row partners Neil Back and Richard Hill, but he characteristically hit back with big games against Ireland and France.
His tactical nous was also questioned by some following his decision, which he still refuses to concede was wrong, to tell Jonny Wilkinson to punt for touch instead of kicking for goal with three minutes of normal time left against Wales. Events have subsequently overtaken that particular debate.
It will be a brave undercover female reporter who tries something tricksy on Johnson. A popular choice last week as England’s player of the year, as well as the Allied Dunbar Premiership’s outstanding individual, he has always preferred to do his talking on the pitch. His tendency to fall foul of referees is the only blot on his CV: the chances of the Leicester lock, a former bank official, being exposed as a drug dealer are about the same as Baby Spice being selected in England’s second row. Awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours, he has already led the English team twice in their World Cup qualifying wins against Italy and the Netherlands last autumn.
If he stays fit and he still has a 100% record in charge on November 7 this year, the day after the World Cup final in Cardiff, the chances are he will be even more of a national hero than Dallaglio was prior to the weekend.
To date Johnson has earned 45 caps since his debut in 1993 and featured in two Lions tours, most notably the 1997 triumph in South Africa where his flinty leadership earned its ultimate reward.
The coach Ian McGeechan suggested one of the reasons he was given the armband was the likely intimidatory effect in the opposition dressing room before a game when he poked his head around their door.
His captaincy of Leicester has been based on the same unyielding principles: other teams may have thrilled neutrals on a more regular basis, but the Tigers won the Premiership title easing up. His is the first name on the team-sheet, even before Dallaglio’s.
“Responsibility on the pitch is the easy bit in many ways, especially with the England job being so high profile, but I’m sure Lawrence is going to handle it very well. He could be there for five or six years,” noted Johnson loyally, at the time of his team-mate’s appointment.
Dallaglio felt the same way before the weekend. “We are in control of our own destiny,” he informs the current issue of Rugby World, referring to England’s World Cup chances. Tempting fate is always a dangerous game.