"No game management" - Three times Matt Dawson has ruined a player as a pundit

The Englishmen is pure box office and he’s good value whenever he’s in the TV studio on the radio because he isn’t afraid to say what he really thinks, even if it might upset a few people.

We’ve looked at three times where Dawson has let his opinion be known on former teammates or current stars.

Dawson, who has been critical of the England captain in the past, penned an article headlined ' Owen Farrell holding England back in Six Nations' back in February.

The former scrumhalf went onto call on Farrell to be dropped from the matchday squad entirely.

“Farrell was scrapping, fighting and was lucky he was not punished for a late tackle on Italy scrum-half Stephen Varney,” wrote the 2003 World Cup winner. “He is on the edge. He will not like it, but we have all been there and it has got to be recognised by selection.

“It does not mean Farrell is not going to be a world-class player, but there just needs to be a bit of coaching and training – maybe away from the side. Something needs to happen, because it is holding England back.

“There were moments when he was not sharp, dropping the ball or knocking it on. That may be because he has not been playing while Saracens wait for the Championship to begin.

“You do not lose your world-class status and talent because of a couple of poor games, but it has been an extended period where he has not been lighting it up.”

“What is missing in his repertoire is an ability to read the game, understand where England are playing and where they should be playing,” wrote Dawson in a column in 2010.

“He can play in the way that has been planned on a flip chart in team meetings, but if it comes down to him to work out on the hoof what options to take, more often than not he will kick – and miss opportunities to attack.

“That is not news, it’s the way it has always been. Jonny needs players around him – guys like Mike Catt, Will Greenwood, myself or Kyran Bracken – to take decisions, then he will execute them brilliantly.”

England legend Martin Johnson, who was the head coach at the time fired back at ‘proactive’ Dawson, saying:“ I didn’t make any decisions either; it was all Matt Dawson,”

Austin Healey, a maverick who was never a fixture, either in the team or in any one position, also said: “Get off Jonny Wilkinson’s case – and that includes you Matt Dawson.” 

The England scrum-half, a Lions colleague of Henson in New Zealand, stunned radio listeners in 2013 with a no-holds-barred broadside.

Dawson claimed the off-the-field shenanigans surrounding Henson affected the Lions unity in 2005 and argued players were wary about talking to him "because he's in Hello magazine and on TV".

He said Henson needed to be hauled over the coals by Wales and Lions skipper Gareth Thomas and told to "buck up his ideas".

And Dawson, continuing his outburst, went on to insist Henson "has not proved himself as a world-class rugby player".

Dawson was speaking to Radio Five in response to an interview about Henson given by Gareth Jenkins.