Dawson was best known for his trademark 'sniping runs' and played the whistle well, often scoring tries from 'tap and go' penalties. When called upon, he could also demonstrate his versatility by kicking goals.
Since retiring, Dawson has become a team captain on A Question of Sport besides appearing on various reality shows and is a commentator and presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live's rugby programme.[2][3] Dawson currently works as a health ambassador for Sodexo, a global food and facilities provider. In early 2014, he was appointed as director for business development at the flexible workplace company, Instant.[4]
Rugby career
Club
Dawson joined Northampton in 1991 after leaving school and was among the last generation of players to have started their careers during the amateur era.[5] Before rugby union became openly professional in 1995 he worked as a security guard and coached at Spratton Hall School.[6][7] He formed a successful half-back partnership with Paul Grayson, winning the 2000 Heineken Cup (though he missed the final through injury)[8] and finishing runner-up in the Anglo-Welsh Cup three times. In the club's 130th anniversary poll he and Grayson were voted by fans into the all-time dream XV.[9]
On 7 April 2006, Dawson announced that he would be retiring from rugby completely at the end of the season and on 14 May 2006, he played his last game of Premiership rugby, when Sale denied Wasps their chance of winning the Premiership title four years in a row and so equalling Leicester's record.[11]
International
In 1993, Dawson was a member of the England Sevens team which won the inauguralSevens World Cup in Scotland. Dawson and competition teammate Lawrence Dallaglio were the first players to win the World Cup at both the 15- and 7-a-side games.[12] Ma'a Nonu & Mils Muliaina have since repeated this feat.
Dawson went on the 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa as third-choice scrum-half behind Healey and Rob Howley, but injury to Howley and some good performances saw Dawson make the starting line-up. In the first test with ten minutes to go, Dawson broke from the base of a scrum and threw an overhead dummy that checked the four Springboks allowing him to scamper in for the winning try. That victory was the start of a 2–1 series win, clinched when he fed Jeremy Guscott for the series-winning drop goal.
Dawson captained England for the first time when he was chosen as captain for the infamous 1998 "tour from hell" in the absence of more experienced internationals.[13] Despite the disastrous results he would go on to establish himself in the starting XV. He became first-choice scrum half at the 1999 Rugby World Cup after Bracken's withdrawal due to injury and scored England's first try of the competition just eight minutes into the opening match, a 67–7 win, against Italy.[14]
In the 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, Dawson went as second-choice scrum half behind Howley. Howley played in the first two tests but was injured for the third, where Dawson played. Controversially however, Dawson was one of the mid-week sides opposed to the training regime of coach Graham Henry and publicly criticised him, although this did not cause as much stir as Healey's similar comments. He and Healey avoided being sent home but were fined by the disciplinary committee.[15] Later in the week he redeemed himself by converting Healey's try during extra time to win a closely tied match against the Brumbies.[16]
Dawson's career nearly ended after sustaining a neck injury during the record 53–3 win against South Africa in November 2002, when he was headbutted by Springbok skipper Corné Krige.[17] He became an integral part of the England side, winning his 50th cap against Ireland on the same day England won the 2003Six NationsGrand Slam.[3] That same year he was a crucial part of the team that won the World Cup. He played a vital role in winning the final tie against Australia in Sydney on 22 November 2003. With less than a minute remaining in extra time he made a completely unexpected break gaining a vital 20 metres upfield. From the later ruck he fed the ball to Jonny Wilkinson for the winning drop goal.[18][19]
In the autumn of 2004, he failed to turn up to an England training camp due to a previously arranged commitment to appear on A Question of Sport, resulting in him being dropped from the England squad for the 2004 Autumn internationals. A return to the 2005 Six Nations was expected and Dawson rejoined the Elite Player Squad for the tournament, playing well enough to earn a place on the 2005 British Lions tour to New Zealand, managed by Sir Clive Woodward.
Dawson returned to the England fold in 2005 but had limited opportunities in a disappointing Six Nations campaign as Harry Ellis started at number nine for four of the five matches.
In January 2007 it was announced that Dawson would be joining BBC Radio Five Live as summariser for the commentary on England's forthcoming Six Nations Championship games. He went on to cover the 2007 Rugby World Cup for the BBC.[21] He also presents 5-Live's weekly Rugby show. He was recently on an edition of www.888.com TV poker special where he finished second.
In 2008 Dawson co-hosted Mitch and Matt's Big Fish, a seafood lovers tour of the British coast, in which he and Mitch Tonks tasted and cooked a variety of fish dishes using the catch of the British fishing ports.
In 2010 Dawson hosted Monster Munchies for Good Food, where he challenged two teams to make a monster sized local delicacy in 24 hours, which were unveiled at a local show and were judged on size, presentation and taste. The size they were aiming for was that of a small car.
Dawson is the 2013 President of children's medical research charity Sparks, whose mission is to ensure that all babies are born healthy and stay healthy. Matt attended their 2012 Winter Ball along with other supporters of the charity such as Lady Gabriella Windsor, who was in attendance in place of her mother, Sparks Royal Patron, Princess Michael of Kent. In 2015, he fronted a cycle ride for the charity from the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to Twickenham in London, 150 miles in one day.
Dawson in Johannesburg with pupils of a UNICEF-funded school.
He is an Honorary President of the rugby charity Wooden Spoon improving the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in Britain and Ireland. He posed nude in the women's magazine Cosmopolitan in support of the testicular and prostate cancer charity Everyman.
Dawson has been supporting the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) since 2004 and became a UNICEF UK ambassador in 2009. In June 2009, he took time out while broadcasting for the Lions tour in South Africa to visit UNICEF programmes focusing on education, shelter and HIV/AIDS.
He completed the 2007 London Marathon for charity, in 4 hours 35 minutes and 39 seconds.
Patron of The National Hospital Development Foundation (NHDF)
Patron of Beating Bowel Cancer – a leading UK charity for bowel cancer patients, working to raise awareness of symptoms, promote early diagnosis and encourage open access to treatment choice for those affected by bowel cancer.[22]
He was married to German-born former model, Carolin Hauskeller, and the couple have two sons. Dawson announced their separation via social media on 21 September 2020.[25] Dawson is a supporter of Everton F.C.[26][27]
Dawson published his autobiography, Nine Lives, in 2004.[28]
In 2016, Dawson revealed how his family went through "two weeks of hell" as his two-year-old son battled meningitis W135.[29]
In 2017, Dawson joined forces with The Big Tick Project, which looks to raise awareness about the dangers of ticks and tick-borne disease in the UK after revealing he had contracted Lyme disease. He was bitten by a tick in a London Park early the previous year.[30]
