Rugby Union: England Look to Evergreen Dallaglio for World Cup

England are set to recall Lawrence Dallaglio to their preliminary rugby union World Cup squad next week in a last-ditch attempt to improve their chances of retaining the trophy and bolster morale after their two heavy Test defeats against South Africa.

Dallaglio has not featured for his country for 15 months and will be 35 by the time the tournament kicks off in September but the head coach, Brian Ashton, acknowledged that there is every chance the former England captain will be recalled to a 40-man training squad due to be named on Wednesday week. The final 30-strong squad has to be confirmed by August 14.

Although there seems no chance of Dallaglio being reinstated as captain, with Ashton insisting Phil Vickery remains his preferred leader, the management have been impressed by his late-season form for Wasps. "One of the things he brings to the party is the fact he has very good leadership skills on the field," said Ashton.

"It may well be that we decide that's something we need at World Cup time. He'd not had a great season by his own admission up to and including the first part of the Six Nations but I think he played better and better once the Heineken Cup knockout stages started."

The Sale fly-half Charlie Hodgson, still recovering from a knee reconstruction, will also be invited to attend England's 12-day camp in Portugal starting on June 25 as Ashton searches for combinations capable of giving the Springboks more of a contest than a weakened tour squad have managed in the past fortnight. Saturday's 55-22 Test defeat was their second convincing loss in successive weekends.

Ashton still has an alarming number of personnel issues to solve and has only two warm-up games against Wales and France left before finalizing his squad. "I probably know five of my starting XV for definite, which is not as it should be at this stage," he admitted. "In other positions in the team it is a question of deciding which of two players is going to make the starting XV. It's not as though we have five players and then 10 complete blanks, we've got five and then 20 other players.

"I don't imagine anyone in world rugby thinks England are going to defend the World Cup successfully."