DALLAGLIO QUITS OVER DRUG CLAIMS

LAWRENCE Dallaglio last night stood down as England rugby captain but left
open the possibility of making a comeback pending the outcome of an inquiry
into drugs allegations against him. He also withdrew from the tour due to
leave for Australia tomorrow.

After a three-hour meeting between the player and senior officials, the
Rugby Football Union (RFU) announced that the player had denied the
"principal allegations" made against him by a tabloid newspaper. These were
that he and other players had celebrated a victorious Test series in South
Africa by taking cocaine and ecstasy and that as a teenager he had sold
drugs.

Brian Baister, chairman of the RFU, said: "Lawrence Dallaglio frankly
answered all the questions put to him by representatives of the RFU and
categorically denied the principal allegations."

The decision represents something of a compromise.While the RFU clearly
agreed his position was currently untenable - replacing him as captain until
after this year's Rugby World Cup with Martin Johnson - it appears officials
have given at least some degree of credibility to his apparently staunch
denials.

In particular the England coach, Clive Woodward, the man who promoted Mr
Dallaglio to the position of captain two years ago, said he believed the
player to be innocent.

"Personally - based on what he has told me privately and also what he told
everybody here this morning, I believe he is innocent of the accusations
that have been put at him," he said. "He is devastated. He is shocked. We
are all shocked."

Mr Dallaglio, 26, did not attend the press conference last night at the RFU
headquarters in Twickenham. He is due to make his own announcement later
today.

In a statement last night, he categorically denied "ever having dealt in
illegal drugs" and "ever having used illegal drugs". Dallaglio added that
"the circumstances in which the supposed admissions were obtained amounted
to an elaborate set-up.

"Pandering to the whims of these people, I appreciate that I made an error
in judgment, which stems from naivety and foolishness," Dallaglio's
statement went on.

The player went on to apologise for "any embarrassment or distress that this
episode has caused to my family, my colleagues at all levels of the game,
the RFU and all supporters of rugby union".