FOR Martin Corry, the question of Lawrence Dallaglio will never go away. Dallaglio’s shadow lay across Corry’s back-row ambitions with England for the best part of seven years and now that Dallaglio has come out of international retirement, Corry is having the situation thrust into his face almost on a daily basis, even though he is captain of his country.
“I’m comfortable and happy with what’s happening within the England camp,” Corry said yesterday before the squad flew to Rome to complete their preparations for Saturday’s match against Italy in the RBS Six Nations Championship. The stream of speculation, he added, was generated by the media rather than anywhere else, and Graham Rowntree, his Leicester colleague, agrees.
Corry does not need others to stand in his corner, but Rowntree, the veteran prop with 52 England caps to his credit — most of them alongside Dallaglio — weighed in this week. “There are not many players in international sport who can talk themselves back into the national squad like Lawrence,” Rowntree said. “I love him to bits and he’s a great player, but the whole scenario with the press, people talking about him every day, almost forces him into the squad.”
This does less than justice to Andy Robinson, the England head coach, who is not short of back-row options but acknowledges the vast experience of Dallaglio. Even so, Robinson has felt obliged at almost every opportunity to praise the work that Corry has done this season, on and off the pitch. He has done so with the best of intentions, but it also serves to stimulate a debate that neither Corry nor Dallaglio seeks.
Both want to play for England, both occupy the same position, Corry is the younger by a mere 14 months. But Dallaglio wrote himself out of the script voluntarily in September 2004 and although he has now climbed aboard once more, it remains obvious that, under Corry’s leadership — five wins out of six, a single defeat against New Zealand, the No 1 team in the world — England are steadily improving and enjoying both the experience and his captaincy.
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Rowntree’s view was that Robinson’s decision to replace Corry with Dallaglio during the second half against Wales on Saturday was harsh. “But Cozza is exceptionally strong mentally and he won’t be worried by Lawrence being on his shoulder all the time,” Rowntree said. “He has to get on with his job and lead his team.”
Which is precisely what Corry wants to do. “We are in a position where, in my position and throughout the whole side, we are developing a squad with a lot of competition for places in the starting XV, which is exactly how it should be,” he said. “It’s good to fight for your position, it keeps you on your toes.
“Wig (Rowntree) is a top man, he has his opinion and he’s entitled to it. With Lawrence, you have someone who is not only a great player but he has also achieved a huge amount. His profile is going to warrant interest and speculation. But speculation is speculation and we have to treat it as that.”
Throughout this season, while recovering from the ankle damage he suffered with the Lions in New Zealand last summer, Dallaglio has answered a never-ending stream of questions as honestly as he could but, more importantly, he has worked hard to play his way back into England contention. The debate has not helped him, Corry or Robinson, with coach and captain exasperated that Dallaglio cannot be taken at face value, as a player seeking a regular place.
It could be argued that Robinson has brought the issue on himself, yet why should he feel compelled to omit a player who he believes can fill a role for England and has the form to justify selection? Instead he can feel confident that Corry has the strength of character to override the debate in much the same way as Charlie Hodgson, who has added to his international laurels the award of Guinness Premiership player of the month for January, has dealt with comparisons at fly half with Jonny Wilkinson.
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“We were confident last year, even when we were beaten by Ireland, that we were moving in the right direction and that it was a question of time,” Corry said. Then, Dallaglio was a former international player and Corry had yet to assume the captaincy; he did so in the next match, against Italy, so he has an anniversary to celebrate this weekend with Dallaglio as a colleague rather than a rival.