ࡱ > 8 : 7 bjbj . B B 0 ( 5 t t t " t t t t Rz : t 0 t i 4 i t i t t L ( i B K : HYPERLINK "http://www.parliamentspeakers.com/Speaker/Matt+Dawson" MATT DAWSON Biography Scrum half Matt Dawson plays for Wasps and has gained fame as team captain on the BBC's "A Question Of Sport" Matt has played for Northampton Saints and England and has represented the British Lions on two tours. The most capped England scrum half ever with 51 caps, Matt has gained a reputation for playing intuitive rugby. He was part of the winning World Cup team in Australia 2003. Matt "rides the chariot" of a pack of forwards like few other scrum halves, always with an eye for an opening and has learnt to read the opportunities of a game at the highest level. He has also become the master of the quickly taken tap penalty, forcing the opposition to concede penalty points and, often, surprise touch downs before defenses can be rallied. His contributions as a place kicker are often overlooked (he has kicked 3 penalties and 6 conversions for his country), but never his ability to deliver under pressure.Matt returned to sparkling form during the autumn internationals of 2002, proving to his doubters that the England No.9 shirt is rightfully his. He particularly enjoyed the Grand Slam achievement of 2003, not least because he had taken part in the four previous campaigns which had ended in disappointment.Matt was applauded for his leadership qualities during Englands doomed tour of Australia and New Zealand - the Tour from Hell - in the summer of 1998. He was also honoured with England captaincy for the victorious Six Nations championship in 2000.He has become one of the most outspoken players of the modern professional era. Matt appears regularly as a studio guest on BBC Grandstand, and writes a column in the Daily Telegraph - which generated considerable notoriety during the Lions Tour to Australia in the summer of 2001.Matt was granted a benefit year by his club with events running from November 2003 through to the summer of 2004.Matt is a big sports fan (he runs an on-line sports memorabilia company) and is a motivating influence in the corporate world - he contributes to corporate conferences, strategy meetings and change seminars with lessons from the world of sport in general and his own experiences in top class rugby.After playing wicket keeper for Buckinghamshire at school level and attending trials with Chelsea boys, Matt opted to apply his talents to rugby union when he moved from home in Marlow to Northampton in 1991. He is an accomplished golfer (current handicap of 12) and likes nothing better than a free summer to appear regularly for the Bunbury Cricket team. Matt Dawson - Positive AttitudeMatt enjoys presenting the lessons he has learned from rugby that can be applied to most sports, and individual approaches to physical and mental training as well as development of career and personal life. Together with leading management consultants, Matt develops relevant presentations in his own style, equally effective at large team building exercises at a sales conference to strategic retreats and change management sessions.Matt learned leadership lessons the hard way during his time as England captain on the Tour of Hell" in 1998, when an under-strength England party lead by Clive Woodward took on the best three teams in the world on consecutive weeks.An excerpt from one of Matts presentations:We were initially stunned by the severity of our 76-0 defeat by Australia, the prevailing tour attitude had been upbeat and confident until then and the Wallabies served us a big dose of reality: we were unable to compete in any department on the field.""After that defeat a totally different approach was required if we were to retain some pride in our two performances against the All Blacks and then the Springboks. We had to change our attitude to our rugby to face the physical reality. We focused on achievable goals, to start winning or at least reach parity with our opposition in certain areas of play, to stay-in games to retain the opportunity of winning. The mood in the touring squad from every member became much more blunt and honest: it was going to be very, very hard work"Matt tailors his presentations for different team and corporate scenarios, working with clients to achieve the goals and objectives of strategy meetings, seminars and conferences. HYPERLINK "http://www.parliamentspeakers.com" To book Matt Dawson for your event, please contact Parliament on +44 (0) 1202 24 24 24 D E F Q R S ] 5 6 8 9 : pcNp