Jonathan Davies: Dawson's dilemma a sign of new times

What happened to Matt Dawson last week was part of the knock-on effect from England's success in the World Cup. When a peak as high as that occurs late in a player's career it is bound to have an influence on his attitude to the game.

For younger players like Jonny Wilkinson, Mike Tindall, Joe Worsley and Josh Lewsey, winning the World Cup would have confirmed their utter devotion to the game. What else would matter to them?

But Dawson is approaching the end of his playing career, and when a plum television job like being one of the captains on BBC's A Question Of Sport beckons it has to be a massive attraction to someone who is concerned about his future prosperity. It is all part of being on the gravy train.

So when an England training squad get-together clashed with a recording day for the popular quiz show, the 31-year-old scrum-half pleaded a prior commitment that couldn't be broken.

England's acting head coach, Andy Robinson, promptly dropped him from the squad, saying that he respected Matt's decision but that it was important the squad made full use of their time together. The door was still open, he said, if Dawson's priorities changed.

I am not sure that they will, and Matt may be the next World Cup hero to volunteer for international retirement; following an impressive rush for the exit led by the likes of Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Neil Back and Kyran Bracken.

It was the retirement of Bracken that probably led Dawson to think that he would still be wanted for scrum-half service for his country as well as his new club, Wasps. But he obviously misread the situation and tried to do a balancing act that can no longer be done. If you are a top rugby player the game has to rule your life, you have to be totally tied to the demands of club and country.

Dawson belongs to the same generation as I do. We began our first-class careers as amateurs and then crossed the border to professionalism. Perhaps some of the old amateur habits still linger. In those days, people understood that you had to have other commitments than rugby because you had to learn a living.

These days, you learn from a very early age that rugby is your only master. It is possible, I suppose, to learn a back-up career via night school, but it can't be allowed to interfere with your concentration on the game.

Since few ex-players can carry on to be coaches, they have to have some thought for the future. Top footballers may earn enough not to have to worry about the end of their playing careers, but top rugby players don't have a bank balance that will last the rest of their lives.

Like many active sportsmen, I used to appear on A Question Of Sport, but I always cleared it first with my bosses. I was just an occasional panellist. When you are a captain it is different. Your presence is required for a series of full days. Dawson was committed to BBC duty before he knew of England's needs, but that's the way it is.

Being a captain on A Question Of Sport is not only a long-term appointment, it is lucrative and carries a high profile. I can recognise the temptation. People like Bill Beaumont, Ian Botham, John Parrott and Ally McCoist have benefited tremendously from being in the chair. But it is not something you can do while you are playing unless you have very understanding employers. As the top contender for the England job, Robinson couldn't possibly be that understanding.

Matt now has to make a decision. The door is open for him to return if he pledges his full attention. Apart from Andy Gomarsall and the uncapped Harry Ellis of Leicester, England aren't blessed with scrum-halves capable of stepping up to international level, so Dawson's full attention would be welcome. But he has to be wholehearted about it. What's going to tempt him more, the smell of greasepaint or the roar of the crowd?