Captain Johnson can do no more in rugby

WHEN it comes down to it, England have won the fifth rugby World Cup, and deservedly so. The William Webb Ellis trophy is coming, dare I say it, home.

Doubtless over the next four or possibly more accurately, 40 years, we north of the border will be reminded of that fact.

But this is not the time to be small-minded, and as Brian Moore, the former English hooker, said prior to the competition starting: "I do not care who wins, just as long as it is not a side from the Southern Hemisphere."

Make no mistake, though, yesterday in Sydney, England did their very best to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. With ten minutes to go, it looked very much as if the dogged Australians would pull through to win their third World Cup.

In the eyes of most neutrals however, that result would have been an injustice. Martin Johnson, the England captain, and his charges won through in the end, despite the dreadful baiting from the Australian media. They refused to rise to it.

They did not make it easy for themselves, though, for when England needed it most, their front five managed to serve up possibly their worst performance in recent times. Jason Leonard was not sent on to replace Phil Vickery for old times’ sake; he was sent to calm things down. Vickery was not by any means the poorest of the pack, in a nervy, edgy display, his counterpart on the loose head, Trevor Woodman, probably managed to hold that dubious honour. Apart from his set piece chores, Woodman’s game simply fell apart. Early on and for no apparent reason, he arrived late at a ruck and delivered an even later shoulder charge. It was crazy stuff and an ominous sign of what lay ahead.

With his props having their own traumas, hooker Steve Thomson refused to help matters, turning the lineouts into a complete lottery by the end.

Test matches, in fact all matches, are won by doing the basics well; throwing long is only when you have the game by the throat and cruising. Not to be outdone by his colleagues in the front row, Ben Kay, too, was having his own crisis of confidence. Given the chance to put the game out of sight, Kay managed to drop the scoring pass three metres short of the line just before half time.

In slippy conditions the young men of the England pack, Vickery, Thomson, Woodman and Kay, had done their level best to hand the game over to the colonies, but much as they tried, the old men were having none of it. Richard Hill, Lawrence Dallagio and Neil Back served up three magnificent performances. They would not, however, object in the least being outdone by their captain, Martin Johnson. If ever a man stood up to be counted, it was the man from Leicester yesterday. On his 84th cap, he gave the performance of a lifetime; truly inspirational.

For the entire 100 minutes, Johnson won crucial lineout ball when England had to. He stole Australian ball time after time, drove round the fringes, and tacked and tackled and tackled.

Johnson can do no more in the game. European Cup winner with Leicester, he has captained the British Lions twice, England to a Grand Slam, and now a World Cup, it surely can’t get better than this.

But it takes two sides and the Australian players come out of this competition as heroes all. They are an amazing lot really. With the weakest pack in the last eight by far, they make a little go a very long way. In yesterday’s match you felt that history was on their side: trailing 5-14 at the break, they arrived out for the second half the wind in their backs, looking like a side under the least pressure. Two minutes left on the clock to keep the tie alive, Elton Flatley stepped up to stroke the vital goal to level the match. Pressure or what?

It was a brave decision by the referee, Andre Watson. With the ref having just warned the front rows to scrummage properly, England promptly ignored him and Flatley was given the chance to square the match.

But it was always going to come down to one individual to make the difference and in the last minute of extra time, after nearly 99 pulsating minutes, up stepped Jonny Wilkinson to drop the winning goal.

The greatest moment of this young man’s sporting life had arrived. Talk all week about the Australians targeting him proved groundless, and apart from one painful tackle on his shoulder, he played as though it was his first game in an England jersey. His appetite for the cause highlighted when he picked up and dumped the replacement Australian stand-off, Matt Giteau.

Clive Woodward has done it. Along with a very able back room team, he had the luxury of coming into the final game with a squad of 30 to choose from.

Martin Johnson and his men will never have to buy a drink again in their lives.

But the final word on this tournament must be for the hosts. To stage the competition in one country takes an enormous amount of planning and thought. They kicked the New Zealanders into touch twice, once in the semi-finals and just before the tournament started announcing that they would go it alone as hosts. They know the right recipe, and again have proved to be the ultimate professionals when it comes to staging world sporting events.

To have 20,000 people watching Romania play Namibia in Tasmania in a meaningless match is quite extraordinary. But the final bow must come from the Australian players, for their sportsmanship in defeat. Always give it your best shot, you can do no more.