England Expects
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007
A month ago, after defeat by South Africa, the England rugby team’s chances of success in the rugby World Cup were dismissed out of hand. For many, the 36-0 drubbing marked the depths of despair from which there would be no possible way back. It is astonishing to now think that the same team has transformed itself into a side that on Saturday could be just 80 minutes away from writing themselves into the history books.
As a nation, we are supposedly at our best when our backs are against the wall facing overwhelming odds. What we all witnessed in Paris on Saturday night was, once again, the English spirit coming through to defy all logic. The rugby played by the England team was not always beautiful to watch but what they did possess was sheer determination and a strong sense of collective will.
This was all played with the highest level of sportsmanship. Star performer Jonny Wilkinson and the team behaved impeccably while the 40,000 fans who headed to Paris for the game were a credit to us all.
No matter what the result is on Saturday, we should be very proud of the manner in which our sporting heroes have conducted themselves over the past few weeks. Like so many others, I shall be glued to the television set on Saturday evening!