Speculation was rife last night that Lawrence Dallaglio has played his last Test for England after the captain called a surprise press conference at Twickenham this morning to make what is described as "an important announcement". There seems every chance Sir Clive Woodward will be seeking a new captain by lunchtime.
Most were expecting the 32-year-old No8 to soldier on until next July when the Lions conclude their tour to New Zealand. Dallaglio now seems to have changed tack, however, and after 73 caps for England could follow his former forward team-mates Martin Johnson, Neil Back and Jason Leonard into Test retirement.
The RFU refused to confirm the nature of today's announcement but if Dallaglio retires it will be the second time he has made an abrupt exit from the England captaincy. In 1999 he stood down after allegations of drug taking appeared in the News of the World; he only regained the role this year after Johnson's post-World Cup retirement.
No one at Dallaglio's club Wasps could be contacted last night but there is no question he wishes to continue playing for them. His chances of representing the Lions again, however, will be remote if he makes himself unavailable for England's eight Tests between November and the end of March.
Having worked so hard to fight his way back into the nation's affections and recover from serious knee surgery, it will surprise friend and foe alike that Dallaglio, the fourth most capped player in England's history, is apparently on the brink of walking away.
He was England's most committed player on their unsuccessful tour to New Zealand and Australia but made no attempt to hide his feeling that not all of his colleagues had shown the same willingness in a losing cause in Dunedin.
There have also been rumblings of discontent among England players, with suggestions that some are dissatisfied with aspects of the England set-up. Under Dallaglio this year England have also finished a lowly third in the Six Nations Championship and lost all three of their summer Tests. Even so, any replacement would have a tough act to follow.
