On the eve of the Rugby World Cup in 2003, Rugby World was shrewd enough to seek out England’s fly-half Jonny Wilkinson for an interview to gauge his views on England’s prospects.
Four years earlier, after an educational defeat at the hands of the All Blacks, Wilkinson had found himself dropped from the England XV. “I made a number of wrong decisions because I didn’t play with my head up enough to see what was happening. I began to feel as if I was butting my head against a brick wall.”
Four years on and Wilkinson was a key member of the England team that was going into the competition as one of the favourites. “We’re in the position we want to be in and, after the Grand Slam and our two wins Down Under in June, any other team would want to be where we are…what matters is how we perform in the World Cup. We can’t afford to get things wrong.”
Nor did they. You can read more from Wilkinson here.
