Lawrence Dallaglio spent his career collecting trophies. Now he’s selling them to pay off debts.
The former England captain and 2003 Rugby World Cup winner has put his entire memorabilia collection up for auction, including the World Cup winner’s medal he received in Sydney after Jonny Wilkinson’s famous drop goal. The 22-item collection is expected to raise around £180,000.
The reason is simple and painful: Dallaglio was declared bankrupt last year following his divorce from his wife of nearly 20 years, Alice.
The Bankruptcy: A Perfect Storm
Dallaglio’s financial collapse didn’t happen overnight. It was the result of a series of compounding blows.
In May 2024, he was declared bankrupt at the Insolvency and Companies Court. The order came just two days after a hearing flagged it as likely. The bankruptcy was triggered by an overdrawn directors’ loan of more than £366,500 from his now-defunct company, Lawrence Dallaglio Limited, along with unpaid tax liabilities to HMRC and other creditors.
The family home in Richmond, south-west London, was sold for £2.4 million, well below its original asking price of £3.3 million. Dallaglio was ordered to hand over his share of the proceeds to pay off his debts.
In May 2026, his bankruptcy restrictions were extended after reports suggested he had continued spending, leaving “nothing” to pay his creditors.
The Divorce: “As a Result of Getting Divorced, I Was Made Bankrupt”
Dallaglio has been remarkably candid about the role his divorce played in his financial ruin.
During an appearance on The High Performance Podcast in September 2026, he said: “As a result of getting divorced, I was made bankrupt. I had some financial problems, I could’ve done things a lot better.”
He admitted he retreated into “self-pity” and “hibernation” after the split, saying: “What I didn’t expect was so much of a period of such self-pity. I’ve been a little bit guilty of being a bit sort of, ‘Isn’t life really unkind?’”
He also acknowledged his own responsibility: “Much of it was my own doing. That’s the first thing you have to acknowledge. I could have done things a lot better.”
What’s Up for Auction
The full collection, titled “The Lawrence Dallaglio Collection,” includes 22 lots with a total estimated value of around £180,000. The auction takes place on October 13 at Budds in Northamptonshire.
The headline item is his 2003 Rugby World Cup winner’s medal, expected to fetch between £50,000 and £80,000. Budds described it as “the pinnacle of world rugby and the singular greatest achievement in English rugby history.”
Other items include:
- 2007 World Cup runners-up medal: £10,000
- 2003 Six Nations winner’s medal: £5,000
- British and Irish Lions cap: £5,500
- England cap: £5,000
- Wasps medals (European Cups and Premiership titles): £8,000 each
The Career That Made the Collection
Dallaglio’s on-field achievements are legendary. He won 85 caps for England between 1995 and 2007, captaining the side 22 times. He was the only player to play every minute of every match during England’s 2003 World Cup campaign.
He also won the inaugural Rugby World Cup Sevens in 1993, making him one of only two northern hemisphere players to hold World Cup winners’ medals in both formats. With Wasps, he won five Premiership titles, three League Cups, and three European trophies.
The Charity Work That Continues
Despite his personal troubles, Dallaglio continues to run Dallaglio RugbyWorks, the charity he founded in 2010 to support young people excluded from mainstream education. The charity has raised over £4 million through its Cycle Slam events and aims to work with 7,000 young people by 2027.
He said: “Rugby changed the course of my life. I lost my sister when I was 16. I was pretty lost and making some pretty bad decisions. What I needed was the family, a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging.”
The Bottom Line
Lawrence Dallaglio won everything there was to win in rugby. He captained his country, lifted the World Cup, and built a career as a respected pundit and businessman.
Now he’s selling the medals that represent those achievements to pay off debts he acknowledges were largely of his own making. The World Cup winner’s medal, the physical symbol of England’s greatest rugby moment, will go to the highest bidder on October 13.
For a man who once had a reported net worth of £5 million, it’s a fall that’s as brutal as it is public.
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