Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio is now a familiar face on the sidelines
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Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio insists it is high time current skipper Steve Borthwick had a reality check. Read his thoughts in the Sunday Times.
"I got to know Steve Borthwick at the 2007 World Cup because neither of us was in Brian Ashton’s starting team and we found ourselves thrown together quite a bit. He is a good bloke, intelligent and a natural team player. But knowing Borthwick didn’t stop me being confused by his reaction to last weekend’s game. While I could accept England’s poor performance because that happens, I couldn’t accept the delusional reaction to it.
"In the post-game interview Borthwick said: “We played some fantastic stuff, created a lot of chances but ultimately we didn’t take them. But some of the rugby we played was outstanding . . . In some aspects, I thought we did some very good stuff. Delon Armitage, Mark Cueto and Ugo Monye in those wide channels made some fantastic breaks, Matt Mullen came on and did really well. I think there was a lot of positives.”
"I heard this and thought: “Steve, please, don’t insult our intelligence.” Borthwick’s summary bore no resemblance to the game I watched and I yearned for him to be more honest. This matters because rugby, when played correctly, is all about honesty. You don’t feign injury on the pitch and afterwards you don’t pretend you’ve performed when you haven’t."
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