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Dallaglio credits Clive Woodward with 'reinventing the game'
Ex-England back-rower Lawrence Dallaglio has hailed his former boss, Clive Woodward, for being the disruptor who revolutionised the England game, leading to Rugby World Cup glory 20 years ago in Australia.
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Appearing in William Hill’s podcast, Up Front with Simon Jordan, Dallaglio cast his mind back to 2003 when England conquered the rugby world for the first time, an achievement he reckons would not have been possible without the involvement of Woodward as head coach.
“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that we would not have won the World Cup in 2003 without Clive Woodward,” said Dallaglio.
“He revolutionised rugby beyond all belief. He is one of those rare people who played at the highest level, for teams like Leicester, England, and the British and Irish Lions, but those weren’t really winning teams in those eras.
“He did some things which were incredible when you look back on them now. He is what I would call a disruptor – when the Home Nations were obsessed with winning the Five Nations.
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“He would say that’s great and it is a wonderful achievement, but to win World Cups you have to be obsessed with beating the best in the world. If you focus on your petty battles within the Celtic nations, that won’t work.
“He changed the mindset from just being focused on winning the Five Nations to asking us what we wanted to be. None of us were household names and he wanted all of us to be famous in a few years’ time. He changed our mindset completely.
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“Clive realised that we needed to be pioneers and innovators within the game,” Dallaglio continued. “What we had been doing was following everything New Zealand and South Africa were doing, but once you have followed it fully, they’d be two steps ahead again.
“There have been nine Rugby World Cups, eight of which have been won by New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, and there is a reason for that.
“He reinvented the game and went to America to see that they had separate defensive and offensive coaches and brought all these specialisms to the sport.
“Then the others started to follow what we were doing; everyone was wearing tight fitting shirts and England were the first to do that.
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“The first thing he did when he arrived on the job was say, ‘New Zealand are the best team in the world, where do they stay when they play here?’ and we said they stayed at Pennyhill Park Hotel, and he said, ‘not anymore they don’t’, and we kicked them out. It was just a little message to let them know we were after them.”
Adding that Woodward was a risk-taker, Dallaglio singled out the coach’s signing of Jason Robinson from rugby league. “He took risks as well. The most obvious example is Jason Robinson.
“He persuaded his chief financial officer that buying Jason Robinson for £1.5million was a good idea. It turned out to be an outstanding idea because he is one of the most talented players ever, but it was a huge risk because he had never played rugby union.”
- Click here to watch the full Lawrence Dallaglio episode on Up Front with Simon Jordan
Comments on RugbyPass
A Turtle has more pace and leg drive than Owen Franks, so it’s a good thing he only had to run 90 metres for that try.
2 Go to commentsOh Tamati Tua was in the vastly over-rated Leon MacDonalds Blues system? Well, no wonder he was wasted, much like Emoni Narawa and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens under MacDonald. now look at them. Good thing Tua isn’t eligible, the Aussies latch on to any player who isn’t tied down.
2 Go to commentsMark Telea is a lot of things, but a defensive juggernaut has never been one of them. There will be far bigger tests in that regard for the youngster.
10 Go to commentsLove and respect to Fiji but not a chance outside of 7s
4 Go to commentsGood summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
2 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to commentsBrilliant article! Harry of 8/9
1 Go to comments‘UK athletes' have been in the NFL from the start.
1 Go to commentsIt’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
23 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
23 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
45 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
5 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
45 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
45 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
5 Go to comments