'I'm sure I've run into you before'

Seven days on from Dublin epic a quick rerun beckons

If it's Sunday, it must be High Wycombe. After the Lord Mayor's Show, or at any rate the walk-on appearance at Lansdowne Road of the Irish President, Mary McAleese, it is business as usual. There are very few easy games in the Zurich Premiership, and Wasps against Bath at Adams Park today is not one of them.

Wasps need to win to maintain their place in the top three and qualify for the play-offs; Bath's need is even greater. The spectre of relegation next month is viewed by the clubs as nothing less than a visit from the Grim Reaper.

No such worries for Lawrence Dallaglio, who today captains Wasps from No 8. It is his best position, and he is back to his best, with impeccable timing. On his day, Dallaglio remains one of the world's great back-row players, and his day came again in the Grand Slam triumph over Ireland last Sunday.

"I said at the start of the season that if England didn't win anything, they should be lined up against a wall and shot, so you can understand how relieved we are that we've done it,'' he said. And Dallaglio has done it the hard way.

He got a rude reminder from the England management that his place in the Red Rose back row was by no means guaranteed. He was selected at No 8 for the Twickenham Test against the All Blacks, with Richard Hill at seven and Lewis Moody at six. In a terrific contest Dallaglio was relatively quiet, too damned quiet for Clive Woodward's liking. After 70 minutes, Neil Back replaced Dallaglio, with Hill moving to eight. The following week against Australia, Dallaglio was relegated to the bench.

"Being brutally honest, Lawrence did not quite hit the standard we have come to expect,'' Woodward explained. "I can't pick on reputation.''

In the event, Dallaglio came on as a blood replacement against the Wallabies, during which time he won his 50th cap and England conceded two tries, before returning to the bench. "People have said to me it must have been a disappointing way to reach a milestone,'' Dallaglio said, "and that's stating the obvious. It's not often you win a Test match against the All Blacks and get dropped.

"It was a bit of a shock. I had never spent much time on the bench, it was new to me and I didn't like it, although it poses a challenge of its own.

"You can't approach it in a negative way, because the moment you get on the pitch you have to play as though you'd been out there from the kick-off. It's pretty weird, trying to trick yourself into believing you're completely involved when you're not.''

It was, said Woodward, "a matter of balance, of fitting players into what we think is a winning unit''. The unit included Moody, but then the Leicester flanker injured a shoulder against South Africa and Dallaglio came off the bench. Despite the record victory over the Springboks, Woodward preferred Moody for the Six Nations opener against France.

Again, Moody was hurt and again Dallaglio removed the splinters from his backside. He played No 6 against Wales, but it was as No 8 and vice-captain against Scotland and Ireland that he looked a reincarnation of the player who enjoyed himself so much for the Lions against the Boks six years ago. In between, there have been injuries that have required operations. Dallaglio and Moody can exchange medical notes.

"We had to look at the match against Ireland as the World Cup final of the northern hemisphere,'' Dallaglio said. "We had to start by winning this one.'' If Woodward was playing a game with Dallaglio, it worked. "When I can no longer climb the stairs and I retire to my bungalow, I didn't want the regret of never having won the Grand Slam,'' he said.

Having been on opposite sides in the Grand Slam showdown, Kevin Maggs was hoping to team up with his Bath club-mate Mike Tindall against Dallaglio and Wasps today, but Tindall damaged his foot while scoring his memorable try in Dublin.

"I didn't touch him,'' Maggs said. "Mike and I had a few beers afterwards.'' For Maggs it was a mixture of celebrating his 50th cap for Ireland and drowning his sorrows after England's 42-6 tour de force. "I was in a bit of a state by midnight,'' he said.

He was hoping to get in a spot of fishing, but the trout in the Avon are safe. Bath have three Premiership matches in seven days, and if it's tough at the top, it's even tougher at the bottom. "It's crazy,'' Maggs said. "With this schedule we could end up losing half our squad. I feel a bit tired. It's been a hard year.''

The Six Nations being condensed from 10 weeks to seven has not helped. "There's been no break,'' Maggs said. "It's the price of being an international player. It's a privilege, but there's a big strain. Everybody else has a week off. It's madness playing games in between Test matches.''

Nor is there a break after the domestic chores. Like England, Ireland have a Test in Australia in June, and they also play Samoa and Tonga before returning home for "friendlies'' against Wales, Italy and Scotland.

England's itinerary is even crazier: Tests against New Zealand and Australia in June, Wales in Cardiff and France in Marseille in August, and France again at Twickenham in September. Then the World Cup. Dallaglio, after his enforced periods of rest, is not complaining. But the bungalow can wait.