Dallaglio is named England captain
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Dallaglio played every minute of England's World Cup campaign
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LONDON, England -- Lawrence Dallaglio has been named England captain for the second time, as coach Clive Woodward plumped for experience after Martin Johnson's retirement.
The 31-year-old was Woodward's first choice as skipper when he took over as coach in 1997, but the back-row forward stood down in 1999 after being the victim of a newspaper "sting."
He was the only member of England's squad to play every minute of last year's victorious World Cup campaign.
"I was in the fortunate position of having a lot of outstanding players to consider for the captaincy role to follow in the footsteps of Martin Johnson who was always going to be such a hard act to follow, both on the pitch and in his leadership qualities," Woodward said in a statement on the English Rugby Football Union's (RFU) official Web site.
"Many players have proven to me that they could do the job and in my opinion Lawrence is the stand-out choice for Italy. I am really pleased for him and I am confident he will be excellent in the role."
Back row forward Dallaglio previously led his country 14 times and enthused: "I'm very pleased to accept this responsibility."
He added: "It's a huge honor and privilege and Martin has certainly set a high standard. He is a world class player and is a great loss to England, but I respect his decision to retire."
Woodward named a 43-man squad for his team's Six Nations defense, which begins in Rome on February 15.
