The Telegraph has attempted to rank every England captain ‘from worst to best’ with some former leaders taking a lot of stick.
It’s no surprise to say that 2003 World Cup winning skipper Martin Johnson tops the pile with Will Carling and Bill Beaumont second and third respectively. You can see Steve James full ranking by clicking here.
Despite England’s infamous poor performance during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Chris Robshaw finds himself further in sixth as he was ‘the best England had at the time and did an admirable job for long periods.’
World Cup winners Phil Vickery and Lawrence Dallaglio find themselves in fourth and fifth respectively.
Below, we take a look at the four players whose leadership didn’t quite cut the mustard.
ENGLAND’S WORST CAPTAINS:
#4. Matt Dawson
Win percentage: 44.44%
They wrote: “The percentage is poor, but you have to remember that Dawson had to lead the infamous ‘Tour of Hell’ in 1998, and did so with some considerable guts.”
Embed from Getty ImagesMartin Dawson facts:
- Dawson currently works as a health ambassador for Sodexo, a global food and facilities provider
- During his international career he toured with the British & Irish Lions three times and was part of England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side
- He won 77 caps for his country in total, including nine as captain and was England’s most capped scrum half until passed by Danny Care and later Ben Youngs
- Dawson joined Northampton in 1991 after leaving school and was among the last generation of players to have started their careers during the amateur era
- In 2017, Dawson joined forces with The Big Tick Project, which looks to raise awareness about the dangers of ticks and tick-borne disease in the UK after revealing he had contracted Lyme disease