We all hope he'll be back

Says Dallaglio's England and British Lions team-mate RICHARD HILL I LEFT London last night with the rest of the England squad for a four-week World Cup training camp in Australia and there are no prizes for guessing the talking point. All our thoughts were with Lawrence Dallaglio and his family.

Officials have given us a briefing, as a squad, over the Lawrence issue and we have been given all the available information. We have all been taken aback by the situation and I cannot comment on whether Lawrence will come back as captain but we all hope fervently that, after the investigation, Lawrence will be proved innocent and be allowed to join the squad in Australia.

It would be great if Lawrence can put the allegations to rest and be able to prove, as he has done over the last couple of years, that he is a world-class player. I don't believe there will be a problem with Martin Johnson having to take over the captaincy because it has never been a question of a one-man leadership with this England side. It is true that Lawrence has been the figurehead, and the one everyone looked to for the final decision, but we are a mature enough squad to know that it takes collective responsibility to create harmony of purpose. Every single one of us is aspiring to the highest possible standards so it doesn't come down to one person, although Lawrence has been a big presence as captain and we will definitely miss him during what is a vital part of our build-up to the 1999 World Cup, which starts in October. This trip is fundamental to our World Cup plans and the players have to use the time to get their minds and bodies into the right shape for the game with Queensland and then the Centenary Test with Australia at the new Olympic Stadium in Sydney on 26 June. We will be based on Stradbrook Island off the Queensland coast for the first two weeks, but there is no question of the England squad locking ourselves away. We are going to keep it as normal as possible. Even during the last two days we have stuck to the programme set out for us and that's what professional sportsmen should be doing in this situation. Lawrence, myself and Neil Back have played as a unit in the past six games and you do build up a strong bond and it will really strike home that he isn't with us when we split up into the various sections of the squad. The more you play with someone, the more you get to know how they operate on the field. It's the same at club level and I know that Tony Diprose, my Saracens back-row colleague, is on the trip and will be hoping to get the nod for the matches. There's no reason why new combinations cannot be put together and be able to perform with the same impact and efficiency. We can't put Lawrence out of our minds completely, but for the squad our priority must now be getting that first win over Australia on their own soil.

Copyright 1999
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