English rugby legend accused of lavish lifestyle after bankruptcy

According to the Irish Independent, the former England World Cup winner spent on excess of £1,000 on travel, £500 on alcohol, a further £1,000 on clothing and £800 on groceries.

Between August and January it is alleged he spent, £200,000 or "everything he earned" - without setting aside funds to pay taxes, or the court-ordered monthly spousal maintenance to his ex-wife.

Ordinarily, after a year, bankruptcies in England are discharged. However, an application to a judge by joint-trustee Nick Parsk had extended Dallaglio's term by three months.

Parsk has been seeking an Income Payments Order (IPO) against the 53-year-old.

Judge, Paul Greenwood stated he had not reached a conclusion on the alleged conduct and gave the former Rugby star until 4pm this Wednesday to respond with evidence.

Before that, Dallaglio had accused Parsk of giving an "incomplete picture" of his co-operation.

A "skeleton argument" was filed to the high-courts on behalf of Parsk that stated: "The trustees have found Mr Dallaglio to be largely uncooperative.

"He cancelled several appointments at which his rugby career memorabilia was to be valued (and when this valuation did take place, one significant item was missing).

"He has provided information about income and expenditure sporadically, late and incompletely.

"He has spent significant sums of money without the applicant’s knowledge; and he continues to spend all of his income without transparency.

“As to income and expenditure in particular, it appears that Mr Dallaglio has spent all of the money he earned from August 2025 to January 2026 – around £200,000. No further income has been reported since then.

“Over the course of many months, information about income and expenditure was provided sporadically and unclearly.

"Numerous attempts were made to meet with Mr Dallaglio to discuss income, expenditure, and an Income Payment Agreement.

"While certain meetings took place, the information that had been requested to enable those meetings to be productive was not provided in full, and often what was provided was late.

“Mr Dallaglio is not meeting his debts as they fall due – including a court-ordered monthly spousal maintenance payment which has been in arrears since August 2025. There is also evidence of an undisclosed bank account.

“The most recent statements of income and expenditure show continued habits of excessive spending – including up to £1,000 a month on travel and transport, £1,000 a month on clothing and footwear, £800 on groceries, and £500 a month on alcohol.”

During this time, Dallaglio has been working as a pundit for Premier Sports and also contributing to The Times as a columnist.

The application by Parsk continues: "Mr Dallaglio’s spending habits mean that there is currently nothing left over to go towards the claims against his bankruptcy estate.

"There are no signs of Mr Dallaglio voluntarily reducing his spending – see the figures supplied earlier this year, where expected income decreased but intended expenditure did not.

"The correspondence from Mr Dallaglio’s solicitors is also concerning: it indicates that Mr Dallaglio actively wants the underlying application to be dealt with slowly in the County Court.

"Mr Dallaglio should not be allowed to benefit from delay in the court system to the detriment of his creditors.”

In a witness statement from Dallaglio last month, although not addressing his alleged spending habits, instead, states he has made "significant efforts" to assist the trustee in bankruptcy and has never "sought to frustrate or evade" Parsk's application for an extension.

“I readily agreed to the urgent suspension of my discharge as soon as I received the application before the court,” he claims.

“Contrary to the TiB’s implication that I concealed assets, I did disclose my significant sporting memorabilia (including my Rugby World Cup medal and shirt) when asked, and I permitted a professional valuer (Bonhams) to inspect and value these items.

"I wish to explain that my level of engagement has at times been affected by personal circumstances.

"In particular, my late father was very ill for much of late 2025 (we lost him just before Christmas 2025) and I was his primary carer during that period.

"This inevitably impacted my ability to respond as quickly or thoroughly as I (and the TiB) would have liked.

The statement reveals he was the "sole beneficiary" of his fathers estate and he said he signed a document “effectively handing over my entire inheritance to the bankruptcy estate”.

He added: "These are not the actions of a person seeking to evade obligations. On the contrary, I have strived to comply with my duties as a bankrupt, especially once I understood exactly what was required.

"There are serious concerns that if this matter remains in the High Court, then there is a risk that circulation as to the details of my affairs will likely affect my ability to generate income.

The Londoner concluded: “If, however, this court decides to retain the matter, I will of course cooperate fully with any case-management directions and work constructively with the TiB (through my solicitors) to achieve a fair and swift resolution of the substantive application.”