Dawson: The greatest honour

England scrum-half and BBC Sport Online columnist Matt Dawson looks forward to captaining his national side against Ireland on Saturday.

No matter how many times you captain your country, the thrill of it never leaves you.

My favourite part is simply leading the side out of the tunnel onto the pitch, with the crowd baying at ear-busting level all around.

It's a big enough honour to be representing your country. When you're chosen to represent your the team as well - it really can't get any better.

Daws led England when they lost at Murrayfield

If playing for England is the icing on the cake as far as your career goes, I guess being captain must be the cherry atop the icing.

If you're watching as the national anthem is being sung, you'll see me wailing at the top of my voice too.

I'd apologise to those watching on TV who have to listen, but I don't think anyone cares if it's in tune or not - as long as the players are giving it their all, you're happy, aren't you?

As regards how much control I'll actually have on the pitch, I'll be looking to play the normal number nine role.

By that I mean my usual scrum-half's game. In my position you are a leader already, so I won't be changing my approach too much.

England are blessed with far too many experienced players in every area of the pitch for me to have to worry about what the rest of the guys are up to.

Think about it. If there's an issue with the forwards you know Neil Back will sort it out.

Dawson and Clive Woodward lift the 2000 Six Nations trophy

Outside me, I've got Jonny Wilkinson and Mike Catt, and they've marshalled the England back line for a couple of seasons now, as well as having played under every sort of pressure there is in the world of rugby.

There's an overall team view and plan, and I need to make sure we're making the right decisions - but as far as individuals go, I'll be taking a leaf out of the Martin Johnson book.

Johnno is a wonderful captain and he leads while trusting his team implicitly.

In developing this England team, we've been allowed our own say, but there's a time when you need to gather together and all sing from the same hymn sheet.

There's a few things I'll say in the dressing-room as kick-off approaches, but there won't be an awful lot I need to say.

The magnitude of the fixture speaks for itself, and absolutely everyone will be up for it.

The entire squad has been very focused from the moment we met up this week and that won't change as Saturday approaches.