Dallaglio given World Cup call

England will recall Lawrence Dallaglio next week for the final challenge of his towering career — defending the World Cup in France in September.

After spending the entire season wondering

whether he still had an international future, the old warhorse is due to be summoned

to the holders’ pre-tournament training camp in Portugal later this month.

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Wasps’ European Cup victory — followed by two weeks of being bounced from pillar to post

by the Springboks — convinced

head coach Brian Ashton that

Dallaglio cannot be excluded any longer.

On a day when he revealed that

another Wasp, Phil Vickery, will be

his World Cup captain, Ashton

prepared to welcome Dallaglio

back without further delay.

"Lawrence has never been out of

the frame in terms of our thinking,"

said Ashton. "He has very good

leadership skills on the field and it

may well be that is something we

will need come World Cup time. By

his own admission, he’d not had a

great season up to the start of the

Six Nations but once the knockout

stages of the Heineken Cup

began he played better."

Short of issuing a Kitchenerstyle

‘Your country needs you’,

Ashton could hardly have made

himself clearer.

England’s management, sifting through the

debris of a series defeat by the

crushing aggregate margin of 113-

32, now realise they need his iron

will and physical power if they are

to retain the World Cup.

Barely six months ago, Dallaglio

needed all his survival instincts to

get into the Wasps team, up

against the trio of team-mates

who finished the Six Nations on

international duty — Joe Worsley,

James Haskell and Tom Rees. But Dallaglio is now set to mark his

35th birthday this summer with

his first England start since retiring

as captain three years ago.

Ashton, fighting off the effects of

the virus which made the South

African tour so difficult, made a

brutally frank admission about

England’s state three months

before the World Cup kicks off in

September — two-thirds of the

places in the starting XV are still

up for grabs.

Asked how many had been

booked, Ashton said: "Probably about five which is definitely not

what it should be at this stage.

Time is running short and I am

well aware of that. It’s not an

alarming position — just a question

of choosing one of two players

for the other positions in the

starting XV."

He declined to name names but

the five do not take much identifying

— Jason Robinson, Jonny

Wilkinson, Martin Corry, Rees and

Vickery, who Ashton says he has

always believed should be captain

for the tournament.

"I said at the outset that Phil was

the man," said the England coach.

"Unless things change substantially he will be in charge of the World Cup squad."

The 60-year-old Lancastrian,

who took everything the gods

threw at him on this tour without

flinching or losing his sense of

humour, is under no illusions

about how the rest of the world

view England.

"I cannot imagine anyone in world rugby thinking

England will defend the World Cup

successfully," he said. "They do not

include me. We’ve learned a lot

about South Africa on this tour

but they haven’t learned a great

deal about us."

Before being reduced to a final 30

in mid-August, England’s long list

for the World Cup is likely to

include Charlie Hodgson. He is in

the final stages of rehabilitation

following a knee reconstruction

which has kept him out since the

injury against South Africa at

Twickenham seven months ago.

During Saturday’s after-match

huddle, Wilkinson left the England

players in no doubt what he

thought. He said: "Take this

result, think about it and be

disappointed but use that

disappointment to get better."

Gomarsall said: "It’s true we

haven’t kept pace with other

national teams in terms of

improving but I still feel we have a

very good chance of beating them

at the World Cup."

Ashton leaves for home today

with a parting shot at his opposite

number. "I said to Jake White 'I

look forward to seeing you in

September when we will turn the

tables'," he said. "He just looked

at me and walked off…."