Lawrence Dallaglio last night reclaimed the England captaincy he relinquished more than four years ago - and immediately made his intentions clear.

Dallaglio has been appointed skipper for the RBS 6 Nations Championship opener against Italy in Rome on February 15. It will be England's first game since they were crowned world champions.

The 31-year-old Wasps number eight fills a job vacated by World Cup skipper Martin Johnson, who recently announced his retirement from international rugby.

Other captaincy candidates would have included Phil Vickery, Richard Hill and Neil Back, but England head coach Sir Clive Woodward has turned to a player he first made captain after he became boss in September 1997.

Dallaglio, capped 65 times, led England on 14 occasions before resigning following newspaper allegations about his private life that he always vehemently denied.

Despite Dallaglio's fierce rejection of drugs-related claims, he was subsequently fined a five-figure sum for bringing the game into disrepute.

But those dark days are now in the distant past and he is relishing another opportunity at the England helm.

''I am very pleased to accept this responsibility,'' said Dallaglio.

''It is a huge honour and privilege, and Martin has certainly set a high standard. He is a world-class player and is a great loss to England, but I respect his decision to retire.

''All teams move on and evolve, and England are no exception. The priority is to get selected on form, that's paramount. I see playing well as the key to success and captaining your country is very special indeed.

''I want to continue to work closely with Clive and the coaches, and take England to the next level. But we are under no illusions. As world champions, it will be a huge challenge to achieve that goal, but it's one I know we all share.''

Woodward last night admitted that several players could have succeeded the mighty Johnson, but rated Dallaglio as the ''stand-out'' choice.

''I was in the fortunate position of having a lot of outstanding players to consider for the captaincy role to follow in the footsteps of Martin Johnson,'' said Woodward.

''He was always going to be such a hard act for any player to follow, both on the pitch and in his leadership qualities.

''Many players have proven to me they could do the job, but in my opinion, Lawrence is the stand-out choice for Italy.

''I am really pleased for him and I am confident he will be excellent in the role.

''As always, I will be appointing the captain on a game-by-game basis, a philosophy I have maintained since I've been in charge.''

Barring an inexplicable slump in form - or injury - though, Dallaglio will skipper England throughout the Six Nations campaign.