TNT Sports
Epic win for England
By
Published 22/11/2003 at 17:10 GMT
English rugby fans celebrated deliriously on Saturday after their team won an epic World Cup final in Australia with a last-minute kick from golden boy Jonny Wilkinson. Despite a come-from-behind effort by Australia to send the game to extra time, support
Eurosport
Image credit: TNT Sports
Hundreds of thousands of fans watching the match in pubs throughout the country screamed themselves hoarse as the winning kick soared between the posts and not a few grown men the size of captain Martin Johnson openly wept.
"It's fantastic," said 30-year-old music teacher Eleanor Lane. "We've been waiting for this for ages."
Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a message of congratulation to the team, while Conservative opposition leader Michael Howard said: "the pride sends shivers down your spine."
It was the first World Cup England have lifted in a major team sport since the soccer glory days of 1966 and bookmakers immediately began quoting odds on Wilkinson and team coach Clive Woodward being knighted in the New Year.
Hundreds of pubs and bars in Britain opened early for the kick off at 9 a.m. local time, many serving breakfast beforehand to bleary fans as they trooped in wearing their replica white England shirts.
As the match went into extra time, the beer flowed and the volume of noise increased, culminating in an eruption of joy as Wilkinson kicked the winning drop goal for a 20-17 victory.
The Sun newspaper estimated that fans across the nation would down 50 million pints of beer, with the British Beer and Pub Association predicting that an English victory would add an extra 15 million pounds to pub takings.
The mood was less ecstatic in the favoured Australian expatriate areas of London like Earls Court and Fulham, where heavy rain further dampened spirits.
The weather was kinder in British outposts around the world where the match was being followed, including in Basra, southern Iraq where British troops followed the match on television.
Blair, who watched the nail-biting game at his country residence Chequers, said in a statement: "This was a fantastic day for English rugby and for England. The team can be proud of their performance, their spirit and above all their character.
"It was a victory they worked for and the whole country can be proud of them," he added.
Conservative leader Howard issued his own statement.
"The pride sends shivers down your spine. Every player did his bit. But Clive Woodward stands out above all. He has made England world champions.
Bookmakers William Hill quoted Woodward at 6-4 to be knighted in the forthcoming New Year's Honours List, with Wilkinson at 4-1.
The match was the biggest betting rugby game ever, a William Hill spokesman said, with some 5.0 million pounds ($8.50 million) gambled.
Britain's biggest winner was a punter from Cheshire, northern England, who won collected 25,000 pounds after staking 10,000 pounds on England.
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