HE ALMOST EPITOMISES the English rugby team and what a lot of Irish fans dislike about it. Lawrence Dallaglio was a titan of the English pack for 12 years and was one of their most consistent performers when Clive Woodward’s side delivered the World Cup in 2003.
Today’s sports headlines are being dominated by Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish’s alleged decision not to take up a place in Martin O’Neill’s Ireland squad and although it’s hard to believe, Dallaglio once had a similar decision to make.
Dallaglio was eligible to represent England, Ireland and Italy but back in the early 90s he had yet to line out for anyone at international level. He had played five years of club rugby for Wasps and was frustrated not to have yet been called up to the England squad by Jack Rowell.
At the time, England had high quality Lions such as Dean Richards, Peter Winterbottom and Tim Rodber in the back row so when Ireland manager Noel Murphy asked him about representing the team, the future England legend briefly considered it.
“I was at home one evening in the early 90s and my mum picked up the phone and said ‘there’s a guy on called Noel Murphy who wants to talk to you, but I can’t understand what he’s saying’,” Dallaglio said to the Irish Examiner when he released his autobiography in 2007.
“Noel and I had a very honest and frank discussion, and while I laugh about it now, he offered me the opportunity to play for Ireland. I said I was incredibly flattered and asked for a day or two to think about it, and by pure chance I got a call a couple of days later from (England manager) Jack Rowell, inviting me to play for England.”
Lawrence Dallaglio playing for Ireland just seems so unnatural, doesn’t it?
It would be like Warren Gatland coaching Ireland… wait, that actually happened?!
