So, would you rather play for England or appear on A Question of Sport?
A nice warm studio and a giggle with Sue Barker might appeal to some people but the late Brian Clough would have told Matt Dawson precisely where to stick his quiz show. "Bye-bye, young man, and don't come back" would have been the censored gist of it.
I think Matt's decision not to attend England training this week is unacceptable. Players ask to be released from an England session only if they have a serious personal problem or there has been a death in the family. Staying at home because there's something good on telly doesn't really rate, does it? I don't blame Andy Robinson at all; any self-respecting coach would have done the same.
What message does it send out to the team if one of your most experienced players is allowed to do whatever he likes? Even David Beckham would not get away with that sort of thing. Nor do you want to work with players who want to be elsewhere. Matt has made his priorities quite clear, not just to his coach but to his fellow players and everyone involved in English rugby. You're either with us or against us.
Matt has also picked an unfortunate moment to abandon the squad, with England trying to regroup following the loss of Lawrence Dallaglio and others. It undermines Andy's position when experienced players are saying they don't really want to train with the squad. People start reading things into decisions like that. It's a very tough time for Andy and the last thing he needs is people who don't want to be there. England are getting ready for the November Tests, their preparation time is limited and scrum-half is a massively important position.
Europe's magnificent Ryder Cup victory should also have reminded Matt of one of sport's golden rules: that the team always comes before the individual. Of course all the guys who came home with a World Cup winner's medal have had to sit down and take personal stock. Some have said "Look, that's enough". Some are saying "I've still got things to do". But there are also one or two saying: "Yeah, I still want to be involved but I don't want to work as hard as I used to". That's the category Matt falls into.
I remember a quote from the Northampton chairman Keith Barwell when his scrum-half left Franklin's Gardens, which may or may not have been misinterpreted, suggesting that Matt Dawson had become too big for Northampton. It was also said he was moving to London to expand his media career, so his priorities were already quite clearly shifting.
In any case I've always thought of captains on A Question of Sport as people who have finished playing, such as Gareth Edwards and Bill Beaumont. Maybe that's how Matt should now be regarded. Although if his profile is as high as he probably thinks it is, the BBC would no doubt have changed the date of the recording to fit around the training session.
There will also be some eyebrows raised at his new club Wasps. There were a lot of question-marks when he signed, with the players unsure whether he really wanted to be there or just wanted to live in London. What has happened this week must call into question his commitment to them. He now has no choice but to perform outstandingly at club level because everyone will be looking for reasons not to include him. Frankly Andy Gomarsall, Harry Ellis and Martyn Wood will have to be pretty dire for the England door to reopen. It's no longer Dawson's hand twisting the doorknob.
It is just possible, though, that Matt took a calculated gamble because he knows there aren't many other scrum-halves around. He might be thinking that, if he plays well for his club, then a few missed training sessions aren't going to damage him and England will go back to him cap in hand. I would imagine the coaches will be saying "over my dead body" but the cupboard is pretty bare.
I wonder whether he would have made the same decision if there were more scrum-halves involved. Personally I'm surprised there has not been more emphasis on improving the skills of the next generation of English No9s. I used to help Matt, Gomars and Kyran Bracken but that work does not seem to have carried on.
Still, at least we now have a worthy addition to rugby's list of all-time great training excuses. One of the best I can remember was Inga Tuigamala phoning me to say his wife was giving birth on their living-room floor. Where will it all end? Probably with Danny Grewcock hosting Crimewatch and Trevor Woodman on the Antiques Roadshow.
