World Cup hero becomes Emirates Sports Ambassador

Rugby legend, Lawrence Dallaglio OBE and Emirates are singing in tune following the appointment of the former England captain as a Sports Ambassador for the award-winning airline.

Dallaglio, who sang backing vocals on Tina Turner’s ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’ as part of his school choir, sang the praises of Emirates and England rugby to a variety of media, as he hosted a lunch in London on Wednesday with fellow England Sevens legend Damian Hopley, with whom he won the Rugby World Cup Sevens trophy back in 1993.

Most people are unaware that sporting legend Dallaglio gave up a promising singing career after performing at the wedding of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, to focus on his passion for rugby.

“It’s fantastic to get together with Damian and have time to reminisce about that tournament we won,” commented Dallaglio. “We were just young lads back in 1993, playing international rugby in the pre-professional era against the likes of David Campese, and here we are, 15 years later, having a lunch and looking forward to watching another Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai next week.”

Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice Chairman, Emirates Airline & Group, said:

“Emirates is excited to announce one of the greatest names in world rugby as an Emirates Sports Ambassador. We are pleased to see Lawrence lending his support to the Rugby Sevens World Cup tournament that won him his first international rugby medal, and trust he will be impressed with our new sporting venue, ‘The Sevens’. Record breaking crowds of 50,000 fans who attended each day of the Dubai Sevens last year, showed the world that The Sevens can establish itself as a sports arena for the international stage.

“It is our aim that The Sevens will encourage greater participation in rugby and all other sports by Arab nationals, and that the venue will help foster the development of teams, both here in the UAE and further afield.”

Dallaglio kick started his England career playing in the first ever Rugby World Cup Sevens at Murrayfield in 1993, beating Australia in the final – a victory he was destined to repeat when beating them again at 15-a-side when they won the coveted Webb Ellis Trophy ten years later, in 2003.

Speaking at the lunch, Dallaglio added, “Something drew me so strongly to this game, and even more so when it came to playing for my country. The physical and mental strength it takes to compete at such a high level became an incredible challenge and I loved every minute of it. When the call-up came to step-up from international 7s to the senior 15s side, it was one of the proudest moments of my life.”

The retired 36-year-old notched up a staggering 18 seasons with the London Wasps, three British & Irish Lions’ Tours and a 15 year career with the senior England team, which included being the only player to play every minute of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning campaign.

The Sports Ambassador role, demonstrates Emirates’ international support for both the 7 and 15-a-side game in rugby union. The award-winning airline has a long-standing history of supporting rugby – as well as being the Principal Partner of the upcoming Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai next week, the airline sponsors several legs of the IRB World Sevens Series (Dubai, South Africa, London and Edinburgh), the England and Samoa sevens squads, the IRB Referees and Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2011.

Dallaglio added, “I will be heading out to Dubai with Emirates next week to lend my support to the England Sevens team who are one of the main favourites to win the Melrose Cup. They won the New Zealand leg of the World Sevens Series a few weeks ago, and are in with a fantastic chance of bringing home the ultimate prize in Sevens. It’s such a hard tournament being played over three days, but I think Ben Ryan is a talented sevens coach and I think he’s got his players in the right frame of mind to bring back some silverware.”