Lawrence Dallaglio, World Cup winner and ambassador, tells Charles Raspin how rugby is changing lives
My entire family leapt to its feet when England won the Rugby World Cup. As the ball sailed over the crossbar with just 20 seconds left on the clock, I made the kind of noise rarely heard outside the most primitive societies. It was as if I were a lifelong devotee of the oval ball game, rather than someone still wondering why no one thought to pass the ball forwards.
I wasn’t alone. Elation spread across the land with the rapidity of Jason Robinson hurtling towards the try line; Jonny Wilkinson became the most feted Englishman since Nelson; rugby games sprung up on every patch of grass. The sport, it appeared, was on the cusp of a golden age.
A dozen years on, however, and the momentum has stalled. The English game has lost course, steered into torpid waters by the distracting petty politics on deck. It is sadly telling that World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward left the bridge within a year of that 2003 triumph, citing differences with the game’s top officials.
Now Lawrence Dallaglio, a veteran of the victorious side and a key World Cup ambassador, is determined that history should not repeat itself.
“This World Cup needs to leave a lasting legacy,” explains the Petersham resident. “We have to inspire the next generation of boys and girls to get involved in sport, in rugby, in whatever capacity they can. It’s a unique chance to showcase the game to those who might not have really seen it before.”
The only player on the field for every moment of the 2003 campaign, Dallaglio is a man who wears his passion for the game on his sleeve.
Five years ago he helped pitch England’s winning bid to host the eighth and biggest World Cup, and has since worked tirelessly with the other ambassadors to bring excitement to a timely peak.
“I’m hugely proud to be a part of this,” he says. “The likes of myself and Jonny Wilkinson, Will Greenwood and Maggie Alphonsi... we’re people who’ve been there and done it, so to speak, and it’s a real pleasure to get everyone else as excited as we are.”
About the outcome of the tournament Dallaglio is firmly on the fence.
“I really don’t know – best laid plans and all that. It’d be tremendously exciting to see England in the final, but it could be New Zealand, it could be South Africa, it could be Australia, it could be whoever. Anything can happen.
“All I can tell the England team is to go out there and play the game of their lives. These young men know exactly what it’s going to take to win the World Cup. You have to go out there and do your very best, because if you do that and come up short, so be it – another team deserved it more. What you don’t want is to finish this kind of event with regrets; to come away feeling that you could have done a little bit more.”
With Lawrence, one has the sense that travelling honourably is more important than to arrive. The World Cup is rugby’s Olympian summit and, as such, an opportunity to influence the wider game at its feet.
“Respect, teamwork, sportsmanship, enjoyment, discipline: these are the qualities I want to see throughout the World Cup, both on and off the pitch. I certainly think they’re values that can inspire the younger generation.”
Which brings us neatly to the Dallaglio Foundation, the charity he founded in 2009, with celebrity supporters such as Heston Blumenthal and women’s rugby legend Maggie Alphonsi. Here is the practical application of Lawrence’s unwavering belief in the power of rugby to change lives. If the coming World Cup is to be the spark that reignites rugby’s fire, it’s initiatives like this that must provide the solid fuel.
The Foundation runs programmes such as Powerful Together, which helps rugby clubs nationwide to qualify as Centres of Excellence for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. It also offers scholarships to elite schools and Premiership academies, designed to give talented youngsters the chance to develop into top players and role models for their peers.
Most striking of all is RugbyWorks, which targets disadvantaged children excluded from school. Working in small, long-term groups with the Foundation’s coaches, these kids develop the stability and skills to avoid self-destruction.
“We’re currently operating in 26 pupil referrral units, all over the country,” explains Lawrence. “Our coaches use rugby as a hook to help these young people turn their lives around, make better decisions and get work-ready. I see first-hand the difference rugby makes to young people’s lives. It’s not just talk, I actually see it, every day.”
Perhaps the greatest advert for Dallaglio’s work is the man himself. The Marchioness tragedy of 1989 – when two boats collided on the Thames with the loss of 51 lives – robbed the teenage Lorenzo Bruno Nero of his sister, leaving him angry and adrift.
Soon, the choirboy who had once sung backing vocals for Tina Turner was facing expulsion from school.
It was signing for Wasps at 18 that turned his life around, providing both an outlet for his energies and the discipline to control them. To the game’s detractors – those intent upon dismissing it as thuggery – he consequently gives short shrift.
“Yes, there are dangers in playing rugby, just as in facing a bowler coming at you at 100 mph, or being tackled by a footballer sliding into you with two feet. Of course players can get injured, but the benefits of the game far outweigh any of the risks.
“I challenge anyone who would question whether rugby is a good game, or whether it has a real impact, to come along to one of those pupil referral units and see exactly what it is we’re doing. Rugby isn’t the only sport that can have such a powerful effect, but it’s very much at the forefront. There’s a lot of money spent on projects that produce nothing like the same results.”
Meanwhile, the great kick-off looms and Lawrence is guaranteed one of the best views in the house.
“I’m actually part of the ITV commentary team, so I’ll be in the studio, explaining what’s happening on the field.”
Very useful for people like me. As for potential bias, Dallaglio admits that his favour extends beyond these shores.
“I have a little bit of Italian blood, and some Irish blood too,” he explains. “So I’d be happy for either of those two sides to do well. For Italy, getting to the knockout stages would be an achievement in itself. Ireland, though, have a great chance.”
And should they face England?
“Then I’ll have a problem!” he laughs.
You can find out more about the Dallaglio Foundation on their website
Donators can upload a Rugby Face selfie to win tickets to the World Cup Final on Oct 31
