Dawson axed from England squad

World Cup winner Matt Dawson’s international future looked bleak last night after his sudden departure from the England squad.

Acting head coach Andy Robinson, in charge of England training for the first time yesterday following Clive Woodward’s resignation, revealed his “disappointment” at developments.

Dawson, England’s most capped scrum-half with 65 Test match appearances, told Robinson that he could not attend part of a planned two-day gathering in Surrey because of a business commitment, which is believed to be television-related.

But that clearly infuriated Robinson, who has started preparing England for their three-Test November programme that features Twickenham appointments with Canada, South Africa and Australia.

Dawson was recently named by the BBC as one of their team captains in the popular Question Of Sport series.

Robinson has already made it clear that he plans to replace Dawson in England’s 60-man elite squad in due course.