Lawrence Dallaglio to be lead rugby union expert for BT Sport

In the latest of a flurry of announcements regarding the forthcoming BT Sport channels, the telco and broadcaster has announced that former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio has signed to become its leading rugby union expert.

Dallaglio – who retired from active competition in 2008 – is the first signing to be announced for BT Sport’s exclusive coverage of up to 69 live matches a season from the Aviva Premiership. He will feature both as a co-commentator for some live matches and studio pundit for other live clashes when BT Sport launches in the summer.

The former England and Wasps player will also be a headline figure for BT Sport and will feature prominently in TV ads, as well as becoming a BT Ambassador.

“I am genuinely thrilled to be joining BT Sport as its rugby expert,” says Dallaglio. “BT has huge ambitions for rugby union and I am delighted to be involved with that from the beginning. I hope that we can make BT Sport the place to watch rugby and I know it has some great new ideas to really put the viewer at the heart of the action.”

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, adds: “Lawrence is a giant of rugby union and we are thrilled that he has agreed to play such a pivotal role across our rugby coverage. The insight and analysis he offers, gained through captaining his country and winning 85 caps, will be absolutely invaluable to BT Sport. We saw an opportunity to make BT Sport the home of rugby union, offering live games from the Aviva Premiership, the rugby sevens, top flight French rugby and top European matches in the future. We believe that Lawrence’s standing in the game and his ability as a broadcaster will help us to achieve that aim.”