2003 Rugby World Cup winner Matt Dawson has never been one to mince his words, whether it was on or off the pitch.
The field general style scrumhalf is perhaps best known for his break through the Australian defence in the 2003 final that setup Johnny Wilkinson’s now famous drop goal.
Since retiring, Dawson has carved out a brilliant post-playing career that has included being a team captain on the BBC’s Question of Sport, a guest on Celebrity MasterChef and finishing second on Strictly Come Dancing.
Closer to Rugby, Dawson has operated as a media analyst and commentator since 2007, initially joining BBC’s Five Live before moving across a multitude of platforms.
Once again offering his opinion on the state of the game, Dawson appeared on the Irish Radio show “Off The Ball”.
Touching on an array of topics, Dawson offered some fascinating insights, but it was his thoughts on the Owen Farrell tackle against Wales that dominated headlines.
Speaking candidly, Dawson said, “I will be telling my two sons and encouraging them not to play rugby. This whole event highlights the fact that I don’t want them to play rugby.
“I know it’s mirrored by thousands if not tens of thousands of parents around who are going to watch that and think, I don’t want my son taking that tackle and its going to be ok on a Sunday morning.”
Dawson then continued on to delve further into the impact of Farrell’s card being rescinded.
“I certainly don’t want my son or daughter making that tackle on someone and thinking it's okay to knock someone into next week.
“I don’t want that on my conscience, and I certainly don’t want it on my kids' conscience.”
Clearly, this has been one of the most contentious incidents in quite some time. Let us know how you saw the tackle and subsequent rescinding of the red card in the comments below.
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