Dawson to captain England

Dawson last captained England against Scotland in 2000

Northampton scrum-half Matt Dawson has been named as England captain for the Six Nations showdown with Ireland.

Dawson will step in for the injured Martin Johnson, who broke his hand in Leicester's Zurich Premiership clash with Dawson's Northampton.

It completes a remarkable change in fortunes for Dawson, who caused controversy with his comments ahead of the first Lions Test with Australia during the summer.

Dawson criticised Lions coach Graham Henry in a newspaper column and was subsequently fined for his comments.

Dawson will be hoping for a better result than the last time he skippered the national side.

England went to Murrayfield in 2000 needing to beat Scotland to secure a Grand Slam, the same position they find themselves in against Ireland.

However, with Johnson again missing from the team, England failed to adapt to heavy rain and Scotland pulled off a shock 19-13 victory.