Dallaglio given World Cup call

After spending the entire season wondering whether he still had an international future, the old warhorse is due to be summoned to the holders' pre-tournament training camp in Portugal later this month.

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Wasps' European Cup victory — followed by two weeks of being bounced from pillar to post by the Springboks — convinced head coach Brian Ashton that Dallaglio cannot be excluded any longer.

On a day when he revealed that another Wasp, Phil Vickery, will be his World Cup captain, Ashton prepared to welcome Dallaglio back without further delay.

"Lawrence has never been out of the frame in terms of our thinking," said Ashton. "He has very good leadership skills on the field and it may well be that is something we will need come World Cup time. By his own admission, he'd not had a great season up to the start of the Six Nations but once the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup began he played better."

Short of issuing a Kitchenerstyle Your country needs you', Ashton could hardly have made himself clearer.

England's management, sifting through the debris of a series defeat by the crushing aggregate margin of 113- 32, now realise they need his iron will and physical power if they are to retain the World Cup.

Barely six months ago, Dallaglio needed all his survival instincts to get into the Wasps team, up against the trio of team-mates who finished the Six Nations on international duty — Joe Worsley, James Haskell and Tom Rees. But Dallaglio is now set to mark his 35th birthday this summer with his first England start since retiring as captain three years ago.

Ashton, fighting off the effects of the virus which made the South African tour so difficult, made a brutally frank admission about England's state three months before the World Cup kicks off in September — two-thirds of the places in the starting XV are still up for grabs.

Asked how many had been booked, Ashton said: "Probably about five which is definitely not what it should be at this stage. Time is running short and I am well aware of that. It's not an alarming position — just a question of choosing one of two players for the other positions in the starting XV."

He declined to name names but the five do not take much identifying — Jason Robinson, Jonny Wilkinson, Martin Corry, Rees and Vickery, who Ashton says he has always believed should be captain for the tournament.

"I said at the outset that Phil was the man," said the England coach.

"Unless things change substantially he will be in charge of the World Cup squad."

The 60-year-old Lancastrian, who took everything the gods threw at him on this tour without flinching or losing his sense of humour, is under no illusions about how the rest of the world view England.

"I cannot imagine anyone in world rugby thinking England will defend the World Cup successfully," he said. "They do not include me. We've learned a lot about South Africa on this tour but they haven't learned a great deal about us."

Before being reduced to a final 30 in mid-August, England's long list for the World Cup is likely to include Charlie Hodgson. He is in the final stages of rehabilitation following a knee reconstruction which has kept him out since the injury against South Africa at Twickenham seven months ago.

During Saturday's after-match huddle, Wilkinson left the England players in no doubt what he thought. He said: "Take this result, think about it and be disappointed but use that disappointment to get better."

Gomarsall said: "It's true we haven't kept pace with other national teams in terms of improving but I still feel we have a very good chance of beating them at the World Cup."

Ashton leaves for home today with a parting shot at his opposite number. "I said to Jake White 'I look forward to seeing you in September when we will turn the tables'," he said. "He just looked at me and walked off."