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Matt Dawson MBE dancing with Lilia Kopylova
Matt Dawson MBE - (born 31 October 1972) is a retired English rugby union footballer. He played for the position of scrum-half for Northampton Saints for most of his career. He was part of England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side.
He has won 77 caps for England in total, including nine as captain. He is England’s most capped scrum half.
Matt Dawson MBE in Series Four
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Matt Dawson(BBC Profile)
Former rugby England international Matt Dawson MBE has entered Strictly Come Dancing to impress his girlfriend and continue a family tradition.
Matt says: "I've never done anything like this. I don't have a burning desire to become a professional dancer, but I'd like to be able to dance.
"My girlfriend likes to dance, and my grandmother used to ballroom dance – it'll give the family something to giggle about!"
Matt's only past experience of dancing has come from "drunken boogies on a Saturday night!"
However, as a professional sportsman, Matt's competitive edge may give him an advantage as the competition progresses: "I don't want to be first out; two or three weeks is enough, anything beyond that is a bonus; but I'm very competitive so that may change later in the show."
Although Matt acknowledges that his friends "will be wetting their knickers" on seeing him perform, he has no qualms about glamming up for the dance floor.
"It's all part and parcel of the show – the dodgy sequins and ruffles; when I go down it will be in a blaze of glory!"
2003 World Cup winning rugby international Matt Dawson is England's most-capped scrum half, representing England on 77 occasions and captaining the side nine times, including the successful 2000 Six Nations campaign.
Matt also enjoyed a successful club career with London Wasps and represented the British Lions on two tours.
Matt is team captain on the BBC's A Question Of Sport and also a rugby analyst for BBC Radio Five Live.
Matt retired from rugby at the end of the 2005-06 season.
Matt Dawson MBE dancing with Lilia Kopylova in Series Four
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Lilia Kopylova
Lilia is gentle and softly spoken, but below the surface lies a cheeky Russian minx. Her speciality is Latin American and together with her partner and husband Darren Bennett (also appearing in Strictly Come Dancing), they are ranked the number one Latin American couple in Britain. She won the third series of Strictly Come Dancing with Darren Gough, and was runner-up partnering Matt Dawson last year.
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