Last updated: October 2007
10 minutes with Matt Dawson

As this year’s Rugby World Cup kicked off, James Davies met up with England World Cup hero, Matt Dawson, MBE, from the 2003 winning side.

Who do you think will win the Rugby World Cup this year and how do you rate England’s chances of retaining the trophy?
Unfortunately, I don’t think England will win the trophy, but if they get themselves together and play well in the warm up games they could possibly get to the quarter finals or semi finals. If they do get that far, given what has happened over the past two years with the lack of continuity with selection and injuries, it would be a huge achievement.
I think New Zealand are the favourites with the way they are playing.

What does it take to be an international rugby player?
Whether it be sport or in the arts, you’ve got to have a lot of dedication, ambition and desire. The difficult thing about sport is that you fundamentally play it as a game. I actually had no intention of becoming a professional rugby player. I just went out there and thoroughly enjoyed myself and expressed myself.
For any up and coming player, it’s all about getting absolutely everything out there onto the pitch so people can actually see how good you are. That comes with practise, dedication as well as a lot of talent.
I think the main basis of my success over the years was enjoying the game of rugby. The moment I stopped enjoying it as much, I walked away from it and retired. Right from the age of five, all the way through to the age of thirty-five, I absolutely adored the game and enjoyed every day of it.

When did you first realise you were a good rugby player and did you have any heroes who influenced you into wanting to become a professional player?
My dad loved playing rugby and started coaching me when I was very young at the local club in Marlow. I can’t ever say I thought I was really good at this. I played in a good team and I enjoyed scoring tries, kicking conversions and throwing dummies. No-one ever said to me you’re going to play for England, and I don’t think I was ever a young Tiger Woods, but I progressed.
My rugby hero was a guy called Nick Jones who played for Australia. He captained Australia in 1991 when they won the World Cup, and also Gareth Edwards was an absolute legend.

Was it a surprise for you, your friends and your family that you did become such a big star in the rugby world?
When I was 16/17 everyone was like wow you’re playing for England schools, you’re going to play for the senior side. That’s when my ambition really grew, and I really wanted to be a professional rugby player.

What was it like passing the ball to Jonny Wilkinson just before he drop kicked the goal which won the Rugby World Cup? What did you feel? Were you nervous?
For everybody it was a massive game and everyone was performing their job brilliantly throughout the whole game. Whether it was Martin Johnson playing the ball up, or me passing the ball, or Jonny kicking the ball, it was our job to do that. We had done it hundreds of times and practised it thousands of times. Believe it or not, it was like any other time we had practised it, but the result and outcome was very different, despite the process being the same.

Do you ever get nervous playing in front of thousands of people with millions more watching across the globe?
No, you can’t. During the game you’re thinking about rugby and you’re not thinking about what other people are thinking, or what they’re writing.

What’s next for you? Do you have anything planned?
I do a bit of individual scrum half coaching but I’m having a bit of a break from it. I’m enjoying a media career with the BBC but, if coaching develops and someone turns around to me and says how about Matt Dawson getting involved, I’d have a good think about it.