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A few years ago, at a time when Lawrence Dallaglio was not playing particularly well, I nominated my England team for a forthcoming match and included Martin Corry at No 8.

It was still early on the Sunday morning on which the paper appeared when my e-mail alert beeped and I found a message from Mr Dallaglio which led me to understand that he did not agree with my choice.

Let's be fair, Corry has never been as remotely fashionable a player as our Lawrence. Last week I criticised Leicester for their one-dimensional approach which often seems to culminate in Corry making a rather unsubtle lone charge up field. Several correspondents took this to be a criticism of Corry while others purported to agree with my contention.

I also recall an appreciation of Corry written just after he had retired from England consideration, which concluded that Corry had always been a very good player but never a great one.

Impressions can be deceptive and my message has somehow become mixed. Frankly, I believe strongly that Corry has been a great player and an inspirational leader for Leicester and for England, and that he should be held in the highest regard amongst England forwards of the era.

He has been so unlucky. His tenure as England captain coincided with a grisly period when England were terrible and when not even the greatest forward ever born could have done much about it. Furthermore, Corry is never one to shirk responsibility. So often, because of his refusal to hide we have seen him make doomed charges in a desperate attempt to drag a team in reverse back on to the front foot.

For me, Corry was at his splendid best when he arrived on the 2001 Lions Tour of Australia as a replacement. At that stage he had some speed in his legs, was vibrant and massively influential. Since then, although his form has occasionally been somewhat streaky, he has never been less than effective and magnificently wholehearted.

He has also been a decent, humble and engaging bloke, he has swallowed his disappointments and been undemonstrative in times of triumph. It is not only in terms of caps and trophies that you can judge your contribution. Often, you can congratulate yourself if in your retirement you can sleep easily in your bed, knowing that you gave every shred to every cause.

Corry's retirement from Leicester may not now be too long in the future but he can anticipate a lifetime of the deepest sleeping imaginable.

Munster Monsters brought low

Munster's fortuitous win over Montauban's second XV last week prompted many reactions in me and all of them, you might be very surprised to learn, were sympathetic to the reigning European champions.