If you want a good example of a sports star who has made the successful transition over to the world of the media, Lawrence Dallaglio may well be it. As a rugby player, Dallaglio was virtually unstoppable, dominating Premiership Rugby with Wasps as well as winning four Six Nations Championships, including a Grand Slam, with England. After that, he made the move to work in the media, firstly as a pundit before also writing a column in The Sunday Times, ensuring that he was as comfortable working across numerous media platforms as he was with his boots on and mud splattered up his rugby top.
Dallaglio in the Media
Golden memories – I was honoured to share such a life-changing experience with so many wonderful team-mates and coaches – looking forward to seeing you all tonight lads #RWC2003 @EnglandRugby pic.twitter.com/Z9XGrQhWzW
— Lawrence Dallaglio (@dallaglio8) November 22, 2023
When Lawrence Dallaglio was substituted in the 67th minute of the 2008 Premiership final at Twickenham, receiving a standing ovation from a crowd of over 81,000 as he left the field for the last time as a professional, English rugby said farewell to one of its most impressive figures. The transition to the media that followed was an obvious one for a man of his profile, but Dallaglio did not rush into broadcasting. His first real experience came when he served as an analyst for ITV’s coverage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, which was his most significant early foray into television punditry.
Provides Rugby Analysis as Newspaper Columnist
Dallaglio co-commentated alongside Nick Mullins in the semi-final between Australia and New Zealand, which was one of the most watched matches of the tournament, offering him a high-profile platform on which to establish his broadcasting credentials. Alongside his television work, Dallaglio was also building a presence in the world of print media. He became a respected regular columnist for The Sunday Times, contributing rugby analysis that drew on his firsthand experience of the game at the highest level. During the 2011 Rugby World Cup, The Sunday Times featured him as part of a stellar line-up of rugby analysts.
He wrote columns alongside Stuart Barnes and Sean Fitzpatrick, the former All Blacks captain, as well as award-winning rugby correspondents including Stephen Jones. The most significant development in Dallaglio’s broadcasting career came in the March of 2013, however. That was when he signed up to work with BT Sport, becoming the first official signing for the broadcaster and taking on the role of their leading rugby union expert. Dallaglio described himself as ‘genuinely thrilled’ to be joining BT Sport, adding that the channel had huge ambitions for rugby union and that he hoped they could make it the place to watch the sport.
Expert Television Rugby Commentator
His role with BT Sport covered their exclusive coverage of up to 69 live Premiership matches a season, with Dallaglio featuring both as a co-commentator for some live fixtures and as a studio pundit for others. He continued to work with ITV alongside his BT work, contributing to their coverage of the RBS Six Nations Championship. Dallaglio followed up his 2011 World Cup role with ITV with a similar position at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, a tournament that was held on home soil in England. His role expanded further to both the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and to the 2023 tournament, where he analysed matches for the channel.
Beyond the set-piece tournaments, Dallaglio remained a familiar presence across rugby coverage more broadly. His television credits include multiple appearances on A Question of Sport between 1997 and 2011, for example, as well as appearances on BBC Radio 5 Live as a guest expert for rugby discussions. He has always demonstrated a willingness to engage across numerous platforms, turning his hand to whatever was needed. Throughout it all, the qualities that defined him as a player, like his directness, authority and an uncompromising intelligence about the game, have translated well into the commentary box and the studio.
Moonlights as a Singer
If you ever want to win a pub quiz, it might serve you well to know that Dallaglio was part of the King’s House School choir that sang backing vocals on the song ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’, by Tina Turner. It wasn’t until 2005 that the Musicians’ Union realised that the choristers hadn’t been paid any royalties, tracking down the singers in order to ensure that they earned the money that they were owed. He was also part of the same choir when it sang at the wedding of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Dallaglio the Rugby Player
Whilst some broadcasters will happily turn to those that don’t really have a huge amount of experience at the top level of a sport to work as pundits or commentators, most are much more keen to bring in people who know what they’re talking about. On that front, you’d struggle to find anyone better qualified to talk about the world of rugby union than Lorenzo Bruno Nero Dallaglio. Born on the tenth of August 1972 in London, the boy who became known as ‘Lawrence’ went to King’s House School in Richmond before boarding at Ampleforth College, where he was given the nickname ‘Del Boy’ by his fellow pupils.
Having shown aptitude as a rugby player at school, Dallaglio arrived at London Wasps when he was a teenager and played in the back row. He was part of the Wasps team that won what was known as Premiership Rugby in the 1996-1997 season, being made captain before having it taken off him for poor performances. He impressed in the 1999-2000 campaign, however, regaining the captain’s armband in spite of the fact that Wasps’ overall form was poor. It wouldn’t be the first time in his career that he had the captaincy taken off him only to regain it at another term, never playing for another rugby union team.
During his time with Wasps, Dallaglio won five Premiership Rugby titles, as well as three Powergen Cups, two Heineken Cups and the Parker Pen Challenge Cup. Whilst that is undoubtedly impressive, it is fair to say that Dallaglio was better known for his performances on the international stage. When England won the inaugural World Cup Sevens in 1993, Dallaglio was a part of that choice before being something of a surprise choice for the England team that toured South Africa a year later. His full England debut came in the November of 1995 when he came on as a substitute against the Springboks, being given the England captaincy in 1997.
In 1999, Dallaglio made the decision to resign as captain after the News of the World printed an article that accused him of being a dealer in hard drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine. Although he denied the accusations, he was later fined £15,000 by the Rugby Football Union. In spite of this, he was an important member of the England team that won both the Grand Slam and the Rugby World Cup in 2003, becoming one of just two players at the time to have won the World Cup in both seven-a-side and 15-a-side tournaments. He initially announced his retirement from international rugby in the August of 2004.
At the end of the following year, Dallaglio came out of retirement and took part in the 2006 Six Nations, coming off the bench several times but missing out on the final game. He was later selected as part of the England team for the 2007 World Cup, making it to the final. Later called ‘the best captain that I’ve ever been involved with’ by Warren Gatland, Dallaglio’s international career came to a close in the January of 2008, having won the Six Nations four times, including the Grand Slam in 2003, as well as five Triple Crowns and the World Cup. He went on three tours with the Lions and was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2016.