Lorenzo Bruno Nero Dallaglio (born 10 August 1972), known as Lawrence Dallaglio, is an English retired
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player, former captain of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, and 2016 inductee of the
World Rugby Hall of Fame
The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...
.
He played as a
flanker or
number eight for
London Wasps
Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...
and never played for another club, having arrived at Sudbury as a teenager. Playing in all three positions in the back row, he won 85
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for England, and was part of the team that won the
2003 World Cup. He is one of a very small number of players to have won both the Rugby World Cup and Sevens World Cup. He went on three tours with the
British & Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
, winning three caps.
He now regularly works as a
pundit
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
on television rugby coverage and on radio.
Early life
Dallaglio was born in
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Although primarily residential in character, i ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
He was educated at
King's House School
King's House School is an independent day preparatory school in Richmond, London. Founded in 1946, it has 450 pupils aged between 3 and 13.Boys 3–13. Girls 3–4.
Present school
The school is currently split into three parts:
*King's H ...
in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
and boarded at
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...
where he was affectionately known as "Del Boy", (though he actually attained his A-levels at The Oxford School of Learning), and at
Kingston University
, mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress"
, established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute
, type = Public
, endowment = £2.3 m (2015)
, ...
to study Property Development. His sister Francesca, a 19-year-old student ballerina, died in the
Marchioness disaster
The ''Marchioness'' disaster was a collision between two vessels on the River Thames in London in the early hours of 20 August 1989, which resulted in the deaths of 51 people. The pleasure steamer ''Marchioness'' sank after being hit twice by ...
in 1989.
In 1985, as a 12-year-old
chorister
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
in the King's House School
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
, Dallaglio and 20 other choristers sang backing vocals on the song "
We Don't Need Another Hero
"We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" is a song written by Graham Lyle and Terry Britten, and recorded by American singer Tina Turner. It appeared in the 1985 film ''Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'', which starred Mel Gibson and Turner. On the h ...
" by
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
.
This only became known in 2005, when the
Musicians' Union, having realised that the choristers had not been paid royalties on the record, attempted to track them down. As part of the same choir, Dallaglio sang at the wedding of composer
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...
.
Because Dallaglio's father, Vincenzo, is Italian, and his English-born mother, Eileen, was of Irish descent he was eligible to play for both
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, as well as England, and in the early 1990s he turned down an invitation to play for Ireland.
Club career
In 1998 Dallaglio became club captain when
Dean Ryan and
Rob Andrew
Christopher Robert Andrew (born 18 February 1963) is a former English Rugby Union player and was, until April 2016, Professional Rugby Director at the RFU.
He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons and has been Chief Executiv ...
left for
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
in October 1995, taking four experienced players with them. Dallaglio held the team together and 12 months later led Wasps to the first English league title of the professional era.
Dallaglio had a good season in 1999–2000, when he regained the club captaincy. Although Wasps' league form was disappointing, he led them to the quarter finals of the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
and to a second successive
Tetley's Bitter Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
victory.
Dallaglio returned from an ankle injury early in the
2006–07 domestic season to reclaim the club captaincy at Wasps, but an indifferent
Guinness Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
season ended with them failing to qualify for the play-offs for the first time since the introduction of the knockout system. However, Dallaglio and his teammates saved their best performances for the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
; he led the club to its second European championship win on 20 May 2007. The final, played at
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
, set a world record for the highest attendance figure for a club rugby match (at around 82,000). Wasps' opponents,
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
had already won the
EDF Energy Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
and the
Guinness Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
trophies and were favourites to achieve an unprecedented Treble, especially as they had beaten Wasps 40–26 at
Welford Road less than a month earlier, but it was Wasps who emerged as victors, winning the game 25–9.
In the following season he joined London Wasps late because of the Rugby World Cup. He returned to find London Wasps struggling near the bottom of the
Guinness Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
. Wasps fortunes quickly changed. They made it through the group in the EDF Cup, and started climbing up the table. Despite this good form in domestic competitions, they narrowly failed to make it out of
their Heineken Cup group. They lost out to
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
, the eventual winners, but could have made it out if they had beaten them
in Ireland in the final matchday of pool play.
They soon hit top form in the Premiership, winning game after game. They reached the play-offs and drew a home match against
Bath. They won the game 21-6, but lost rising star
Danny Cipriani
Danny Cipriani (; born 2 November 1987) is an English professional rugby union player currently unattached. He most recently played for Premiership Rugby side Bath and previously played for Gloucester, Sale Sharks and Wasps in the Premiership ...
to an injury.
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
beat
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
to qualify for the Premiership final. This match was to be Lawrence Dallaglio's last match, and it was to be played in front of a capacity crowd of 81,600 at Twickenham. They were made to fight, but eventually won 26-16. Dallaglio later claimed it was Wasps' greatest Premiership title, noting the damaging effect the Rugby World Cup had on their squad.
In the 67th minute of the Premiership final, he was substituted, and received a standing ovation by the sell out crowd.
Lawrence made a sly appearance, at blindside flanker, for London Wasps "A" Team in the Guinness A League on 8 September 2008. He was getting game time before he captained an England XV for the Help For Heroes game at Twickenham on 20 September later that month.
International
Dallaglio was a member of the inaugural
World Cup Sevens-winning squad with
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in
1993.
He was then a surprise choice for the 1994 England tour to South Africa. Yet the following winter he was not guaranteed a place in Wasps' back-row. He made his debut for England in November 1995 as a substitute against the
Springboks
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
and toured South Africa as a member of the
1997 British & Irish Lions squad. He was given the England captaincy in the autumn of 1997 by new coach
Clive Woodward
Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lion ...
, taking over from
Phil de Glanville
Philip Ranulph de Glanville (born 1 October 1968 in Loughborough) is a former English rugby union player who played at centre for Bath and England.
Rugby career
de Glanville played for Durham University while an Economics and Politics stude ...
. The other candidate for the job,
Martin Johnson, had led the Lions tour, but Dallaglio was preferred.
2003 Rugby World Cup
After another strong season in 2000–01, he was selected for his second
Lions tour, but an injury in the last game of the domestic season, against Bath, meant he was doubtful for the trip to Australia. The Lions passed him fit but the knee gave way in a mid-week match, cutting short his tour and forcing him to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Dallaglio was a key member of England's 2003 Grand Slam and
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
-winning side, being the only player to play in every minute of England's World Cup campaign. With the World Cup win, he became one of the two players – the other being England
scrum half Matt Dawson
Matthew James Sutherland Dawson, MBE (born 31 October 1972) is an English retired rugby union player who played scrum half for Northampton Saints and then London Wasps. During his international career he toured with the British & Irish Lion ...
– to have won the World Cup in both the 15- and 7-a-side competitions.
Dallaglio was re-appointed as captain after
Martin Johnson retired. In August 2004, Dallaglio announced his retirement from the national team due to "the brutal demands of international rugby" but after being selected for the
2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand he changed his mind and made himself available for international selection again.
He regained the captaincy in 2004 after Johnson's retirement from international rugby,
but without Johnson the team played poorly, and Dallaglio announced his retirement from international rugby on 31 August 2004.
Despite his international retirement, Dallaglio was called up for his third Lions tour in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
but he fractured his ankle during the first tour match, against
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...
on 4 June, and did not play again during the tour.
2007 Rugby World Cup
At the end of 2005, Dallaglio announced that he was making himself available again for England selection and he was included in the squad for the
2006 Six Nations Championship. He was named on the bench for England's opening match of the tournament against Wales on 4 February at
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
. He was a
blood replacement
In both rugby union and rugby league, a blood replacement (also referred to as a blood substitution or blood bin) is a special kind of substitution which can be used in the case of a player having to leave the field of play temporarily to have a ...
for clubmate
Joe Worsley
Joseph Paul Richard Worsley, (born 14 June 1977) is a retired English rugby union player who played flanker for Wasps and England.
Biography
Worsley was born in London and educated at Hitchin Boys' School and Brunel University. He joined ...
after 13 minutes and on 64 minutes was a replacement for
Martin Corry, touching down with a clinically executed charge from the back of the scrum on 70 minutes. He gained three more caps off the bench during the tournament, but did not play in the last game of the championship, when England lost 28–24 to Ireland.
Dallaglio continued to play for England, especially in the number eight position, forming – with
Neil Back
Neil Antony Back MBE (born 16 January 1969) is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British & Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his ...
and
Richard Hill – the Hill, Back, Dallaglio back-row trio affectionately nicknamed the ''Holy Trinity''.
On 15 June 2007, Dallaglio was one of 47 players chosen by England coach
Brian Ashton to attend a pre-World Cup training camp and he was later named in the 30-man World Cup squad, alongside
Joe Worsley
Joseph Paul Richard Worsley, (born 14 June 1977) is a retired English rugby union player who played flanker for Wasps and England.
Biography
Worsley was born in London and educated at Hitchin Boys' School and Brunel University. He joined ...
and
Jason Robinson, who were also veterans of England's
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...
success. Dallaglio said "The fans can expect this England team to give absolutely everything and play with an enormous amount of passion and pride."
England started poorly in the tournament, with an unconvincing 28–10 victory over the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and a 36–0 loss to eventual champions
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. Dallaglio started the first game at number eight, but was dropped for the South Africa match in favour of
Nick Easter
Nicholas James Easter (born 15 August 1978) is an English rugby union coach and former player. He played as a Number 8 for Orrell, Harlequins and the England national team.
He began his career in 2001, playing for Orrell, before moving t ...
, who became first choice for the rest of the tournament. Following the loss to South Africa, England began to improve steadily and, against most expectations, reached the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, where they lost a closely fought game. The improvement in performance was credited to the influence of a number of senior players, including Dallaglio (who made a number of appearances off the bench) and
Mike Catt
Michael John Catt OBE (born 17 September 1971) is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international cap ...
.
Soon after the World Cup tournament, Dallaglio and Catt each published an autobiography that was serialised in a major newspaper. Both players were highly critical of coach Brian Ashton's performance.
Many commentators questioned the wisdom of making public criticisms so soon after the tournament and Dallaglio later issued a clarification and partial apology.
Captaincy
Warren Gatland
Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is currently in his second spell as the head coach of the Wales national team.
As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six N ...
has said that Dallaglio was "The best captain that I’ve ever been involved with."
Retirement
On 3 January 2008, Dallaglio announced that he was retiring from international rugby with immediate effect and from domestic rugby at the end of
the current season; he also stated that he would like to take up coaching in the future. At the end to his career, Wasps won the 2008 Premiership Final on 31 May 2008 in front of a capacity crowd of 81,600 at
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
, then a world rugby union record attendance for a club match.
Drugs scandal
On 24 May 1999 Dallaglio resigned as England's rugby union captain following allegations in the ''
News of the World
The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...
'' that he had used and been a dealer in hard drugs, including
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
and
ecstasy: the incidents were alleged to have taken place eight or nine years earlier, though the newspaper's front-page story made no mention of this. The newspaper also reported that Dallaglio had boasted about taking drugs at a party during the Lions tour to South Africa, in 1997.
Dallaglio "categorically denied" the newspaper's claim that he had dealt in drugs and said he had been the victim of "an elaborate set-up".
In response, ''News of the World'' editor
Phil Hall said: "We stand by our story. Lawrence Dallaglio is damned in his own words and, frankly, we are amazed at his denial."
England coach
Clive Woodward
Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lion ...
, who was one of a panel of senior
RFU
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...
officials who met Dallaglio to investigate the matter, said he was "bitterly disappointed" for the player and his family but was confident he would be "proved innocent".
The
RFU
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...
undertook their own investigation to assess the veracity of the claims and
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
lock and British & Irish Lions skipper
Martin Johnson was appointed to replace Dallaglio as England captain. Dallaglio was later fined £15,000 plus costs by the RFU for the incident.
Post-retirement
Dallaglio was an analyst for
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
's coverage of the
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...
. He co-commentated with
Nick Mullins in the semi final between Australia and New Zealand. He followed this up with a similar role in 2015.
Charitable work
Dallaglio captained the Help for Heroes XV at a charity match in Twickenham. The side, which included former England Internationals
Will Greenwood
William John Heaton Greenwood, MBE (born 20 October 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played for Leicester Tigers and Harlequins and was a member of England's 2003 World Cup-winning team and the 1997 British & Irish Lions. H ...
, Jason Robinson and former England Team Manager Martin Johnson, defeated the International XV led by former Wales captain
Scott Gibbs
Ian Scott Gibbs (born 23 January 1971), also known by the nickname of "Car Crash", is a Welsh former rugby footballer who has represented Wales and the Lions in rugby union and Wales and Great Britain in rugby league. Noted feats included his pe ...
. Dallaglio ended the match by kicking the final conversion, bringing the score to 29–10. In front of a 52,254-strong crowd at
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
the game raised funds approximately £1.3 million for
Help for Heroes
Help for Heroes (H4H) is a British charity which provides lifelong recovery support to British Armed Forces service personnel who have been wounded or injured in the line of duty, and to their families, originally only since 11 September 2001, th ...
.
Following the success of his testimonial year, Dallaglio set himself the challenge of raising half a million pounds for charity, and with much help and support from colleagues, friends and family the total ended up being well over a million, which was contributed to various charitable causes.
This led to many more requests, and Dallaglio wanted to effectively manage his charitable efforts in a more formalised way. Then following the death of 'his rock', his mother Eileen, to cancer in 2008 Lawrence set up Dallaglio RugbyWorks in 2009.
When its inaugural event 8 Rocks 2009 raised over £600,000, Dallaglio and all of those supporting him and the charity knew that this was the beginning of something big. Nearly five years on, the charity has expanded significantly and has made close to £10 million in total. In 2011 Dallaglio wanted to redefine the focus of the charity, and so went about the task of creating a social inclusion programme that took into consideration his passion for rugby and its values. Dallaglio RugbyWorks is an intensive, long-term skills development programme based on rugby, through which the aim is to get teenagers who have been excluded from mainstream education into sustained education, employment or training.
In summer 2008, he cycled 933 km across the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
as part of a team of 30 cyclists, raising £435,000 for
Bliss
BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C b ...
, the special care baby charity. Starting out in
Biarritz
Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...
and finishing in
Banyuls
Banyuls-sur-Mer (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It was first settled by Greeks starting in 400 BCE.
Geography Location
Banyuls-sur-Mer is located in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the a ...
, he was joined by former rugby union footballer
Damian Hopley
Damian Hopley (born 12 April 1970) is a former rugby union player for London Wasps and England. His position of choice was on the wing or in the centres.
Background
Born in South London, Hopley attended St Benedict's School in Ealing West ...
and ski expert Warren Smith.
In February 2010, Dallaglio embarked on a gruelling cycle from Rome to Edinburgh during the RBS 6 Nations Championship to raise money for
Sport Relief
''Sport Relief'' was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002.
It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Director of Educat ...
and Dallaglio RugbyWorks. The ''Dallaglio Cycle Slam'' took place over the course of a month, seeing a team, including former
Arsenal FC
Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (incl ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
football international
Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer and pundit who played as a right-back for Arsenal. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England.
A childhood Manchester City fan, Dixon began his footballing ...
cycling through all of the RBS 6 Nations countries, taking in each of the international rugby stadia along the way. The aim was to raise £1 million, net proceeds of which were split equally between Sport Relief and the newly formed Dallaglio RugbyWorks, whose beneficiaries include
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...
,
DebRA
Debra is a feminine given name.
Debra may refer to:
People
* Debra Adelaide (born 1958), Australian writer
* Debra Allbery (born 1957), American poet
* Debra R. Anderson (1949-2022), American politician
* Debra Austin (born 1955), American ba ...
,
Leukaemia Research, Help for Heroes and the RPA Benevolent Fund.
In 2012, Lawrence Dallaglio joined forces with former
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
cricketer
Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff for the Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012. They were joined by former footballers
Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer and pundit who played as a right-back for Arsenal. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England.
A childhood Manchester City fan, Dixon began his footballing ...
and
Graeme Le Saux
Graeme Pierre Le Saux ( ; born 17 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer and television pundit.
As a versatile left sided player he played most of his career at left back with two spells at Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Southamp ...
, and a number of other celebrities and members of the public in a bid to cycle from Olympia in Greece, covering 521 km to the Olympic stadium in Stratford, London. The Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 raised over two million pounds for Cancer Research UK and
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospit ...
via Dallaglio RugbyWorks and the AF Foundation with a portion of the money raised going to
Virgin Unite
Virgin Unite is the working name of The Virgin Foundation, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group. Created by Richard Branson and Virgin employees in September 2004, Virgin Unite pools volunteering efforts from across the Virgin G ...
, Virgin’s non-profit arm.
In 2014, Dallaglio led the third Dallaglio Cycle Slam from Treviso in Italy cycling over 2,300 km to Twickenham Stadium. The challenge raised over £650,000 for Dallaglio RugbyWorks and Teenage Cancer Trust.
In 2016, Dallaglio was joined by 160 riders from San Sebastien to Andorra, Barcelona, Majorca and Ibiza, over 2,000 km. The event raised over £1 million for Dallaglio RugbyWorks.
In 2018, 300 devoted cyclists including rugby player
Austin Healey
Austin Sean Healey (born 26 October 1973 in Wallasey (now part of Merseyside, formerly Cheshire), is a former English rugby union player who played as a utility back for Leicester Tigers, and represented both England and the British & Irish L ...
,
Andrew Ridgeley
Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham!.
Early life
Ridgeley was born in Windlesham, Surrey, England, to parents ...
from
Wham
Wham! was a British pop music duo.
Wham may also refer to:
Places
* Wham, North Yorkshire, England, a hamlet in the Yorkshire Dales, United Kingdom
* Wham, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States
Stations
* WHAM (AM), a talk radio ...
and actor
John Hannah also participated in the Dallaglio Cycle Slam.
Personal life
Dallaglio married his long-time girlfriend, Alice, in 2005. They have two daughters, Ella and Josie, and a son, Enzo.
Already a
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE), he was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.
He has also received an Honorary Doctorate from
Buckinghamshire New University
, mottoeng = By Art and Industry
, established = 2007 – gained university status 1891 – Science and Art School
, type = Public
, staff =
, chancellor = Jay Blades
, vice_chancellor = Nick Braisby
, st ...
for services to sport. The Doctorate was conferred on 12 September 2008.
Honours
;
Wasps
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...
*
Premiership 1996–97, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08
*
Powergen Cup
The RFU Knockout Cup was an English rugby union competition open to any member of the Rugby Football Union. First contested in 1971, it was the premier competition in English club rugby before the establishment of the English league structure in 1 ...
1998–99, 1999–00, 2005–06
*
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
2003–04, 2006–07
*
Parker Pen Challenge Cup 2002–03
;
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
*
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...
:
**Winner (4):
1996,
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
,
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
,
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
*
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
:
**Winner (1):
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
*
Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
Sports Horse racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
** Triple Crown Trophy
** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Trip ...
:
**Winner (5):
1996,
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
,
1998,
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
,
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
*
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
:
**Winner (1):
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
*
World Cup Sevens:
**Winner (1):
1993
;
Lions
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
*
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
1997
*
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
2001
*
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
2005
;
World Rugby Hall of Fame
The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...
* Inducted in 2016
See also
*
List of top English points scorers and try scorers
Bibliography
*
*
References
External links
archive of profileat www.wasps.co.uk
profileat lionsrugby.com
Dallaglio RugbyWorksDallaglio Flintoff 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallaglio, Lawrence
1972 births
Living people
Alumni of Kingston University
Barbarian F.C. players
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England
British people of Irish descent
British people of Italian descent
England international rugby sevens players
England international rugby union players
English people of Italian descent
English rugby union players
Italian British rugby union players
Male rugby sevens players
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Ampleforth College
People from Shepherd's Bush
Rugby union flankers
Rugby union number eights
Rugby union players from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Wasps RFC players
World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees