Dawson won’t dwell on past Slam miseries

THE pencil-thick, wine-red line which meanders down the nose of England’s scrum-half is the only scar Matt Dawson will readily admit to.

When he takes to the Lansdowne Road field tomorrow afternoon, though, there could well be evidence of a heavy heart and some psychological bruising.

The memories of captaining England on that fateful day in October 2001 are sure to come flooding back. Of how, in Martin Johnson’s absence, Dawson led an English side into Grand Slam oblivion at the hands of a rampant Ireland. After all, how could recollections of that black day not be resurrected in an English player’s mind?