Rugby: Dawson out for three weeks

Discarded scrum-half Matt Dawson has been ruled out of England’s autumn

international programme after confirming he suffered concussion on club

duty for Northampton on Friday.

Dropped altogether from the England squad by coach Clive Woodward for

the titanic triumph over Australia at Twickenham on Saturday, the Saints

skipper has seen his form nose-dive this season.

And, while his England team-mates were preparing for their clash with

the world champions Dawson was left to rediscover his form in a Zurich

Premiership fixture with Harlequins at Franklin’s Gardens.

Dawson suffered a bang on the head in a clash with Bill Davison and

spent the night in hospital.

Confirmation of concussion automatically rules Dawson out for three weeks and he is now unlikely to return until the visit of Wasps on December 8.

The scrum-half, who has courted controversy since publicly criticising

the Lions management in a newspaper column during last summer’s tour of

Australia, is desperately disappointed to have missed out on one of

England’s finest hours.

But Dawson still prefers to look on the bright side. ‘‘I watched the

England game from my settee, having just returned from hospital,’’ he

said.

‘‘I had been detained overnight after being knocked unconscious by a

Harlequins player at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday.

‘‘I played on but don’t remember a thing. I underwent CAT scans, which

were all clear, but I need to sit out the mandatory three-week safety

period.

‘‘My hamstring also flared but we’ve got to the root of the problem now,

it’s a referred pain from my spine, I think the clout I took jarred

everything up again.

‘‘Anyway, I can use the enforced rest to get the problem sorted once and

for all.’’