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Some critics argue that England were good enough to have won another
Grand Slam in 1981, but injuries and bad luck meant that they could only
finish midtable. However, prior to the 1982 Five Nations, Paul helped
England to a 15-11 victory over Australia at Twickenham when he kicked
three penalties and converted a try by flanker Nick Jeavons.
Unfortunately, England were unable to capitalise on that triumph and
dropped three points in the first two matches of the Five Nations
campaign against Scotland and Ireland.
However, the team did recover to
register welcome victories against France and Wales in the remaining
fixtures. 1983 proved to be a mixed year for Paul - on the plus side he
played in England's first victory over the All Blacks since 1973, but
England were disappointing in the Five Nations and finished bottom. He
also missed out on selection for the British Lions tour to New Zealand, a
decision which many experts found hard to fathom. Towards the end of
the year Dodge then suffered the misfortune of breaking his leg, which
caused him to miss the entire 1984 season. He returned in 1985 and was
named England's 100th captain, but his tenure at the helm was not
especially successful with only two wins from seven matches.
His
international career concluded in the summer by leading the national
side on tour to New Zealand for the first time in twelve years, but
despite almost winning the first test, England succumbed to a record
42-15 drubbing in the second. After the tour, Paul announced his
retirement from the international scene at the age of just 27. His 32
caps were a record for an English centre, but he might have won many
more had he not decided to retire early. Dodge continued play for
Leicester until 1991, racking up 436 appearances. He won three cup
finals from six appearances, and led the East Midlanders to victory in
the first Courage League Championship in 1988. (Jon Collins)
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