There are 21 weeks, and a day, to go before the start of the 2015 World Cup. The coming months will give rise to media attention being lavished on the players who were part of England’s winning effort in 2003, the only time a northern hemisphere team has won the trophy, so why waste time?
Phil Vickery was England’s tight-head prop then and in the final joined the list of front-rowers in the tournament who were unhappy at not being allowed to exploit their scrummaging superiority over Australia. England are the hosts this time and, as New Zealand found four years ago and France, eventually, four years before that, it can bring more than crowd advantage.
The question Vickery is most asked is whether England are good enough to win the World Cup, even with home advantage. Back in 2003, they went into the tournament as grand slam Six Nations champions and with a long unbeaten record against the major southern hemisphere nations. They were the team with momentum behind it.
“When I look back at that tournament, what stands out is that we did not play particularly well in any of the matches,” said Vickery, the Cornish former Lions, Gloucester and Wasps prop, who was speaking at the launch of a competition organised by Sharp’s Brewery.
“We were just a team that knew how to win and that, in a tournament unlike any other which has a pressure all of its own, is what matters,” he went on. “We had leaders throughout the side, players of huge stature and experience, and Clive Woodward managed us brilliantly. He knew when to stand back.
“When I look at the current squad, I see very good players and a great strength in depth. What is not apparent, and I say this as someone who does not know what goes on in training or at the squad’s base, is the input the players are having. I admire what Stuart Lancaster and his coaches have done but in the final reckoning come, September and October, it will come down to the players – and we are in a horrible group with Wales and Australia. A good side is going to be disappointed.
“I know I come from a different era – Ian McGeechan summed it up when he said a professional rugby player but amateur at heart – but I would just like to see a bit more from players. Everything is clinical but there should be more edge, more nark. It should not be about coaches shouting at players but players getting on to their team-mates. You want to get that sense of who they are and we have to see a player-driven England.”
The words of a Heather Nova song come to mind: “When you let other people tell you what’s right, when you leave your instinct and own truth behind, that’s a virus of the mind.” England were led by Martin Johnson in 2003 but he was backed up by Vickery, Ben Kay, Lawrence Dallaglio, Neil Back, Richard Hill, Matt Dawson, Will Greenwood, Mike Catt and Jonny Wilkinson. They knew how to escape from holes, having learned how to win close games.
“England can win the World Cup but whether they will is a different question,” said Vickery, who led England in the 2007 tournament when they recovered from a heavy group defeat by South Africa to reach the final. “George Ford has made a big impact at outside-half and Owen Farrell has a real battle to get his place back. Ford’s attitude will be key: he has to have the desire to make the jersey his and build on what he has achieved rather than feel satisfied? He has made a difference and England played some good stuff in the Six Nations but a World Cup is generally about defence rather than width, being smart and adapting quickly. We did not play much rugby in 2003 or 2007, when we got to the final again, but we did not need to.
“I think you have to look beyond England because northern hemisphere rugby is in good shape. Ireland won the Six Nations and if Jonathan Sexton stays fit, who knows what they can achieve. Wales have as good a chance as any and France showed in 2011 that appearances can be deceptive. They looked anything but potential winners during the group stage but were unlucky to lose the final to the All Blacks. England have a lot going for them but they have to develop the ability of doing it when it matters.
“Before the game in Dublin in the Six Nations, Chris Robshaw said the players were still hurting from not winning the title the previous year. After the defeat, Will Carling pointed out that they could not have been hurting enough – and that summed it up because England did not do what they said they would. You have to turn experiences like that to your advantage and we had a few before 2003, learning from them and moving on. Is this World Cup coming a bit too soon for England? We won’t have the number of caps a winner traditionally needs but most of their matches are at Twickenham and the atmosphere there during the Six Nations was something else.
“The other thing about England is that if you were picking a World XV today, how many of their players would get in? You could argue none, although Billy Vunipola did well in the Six Nations, and there lies the rub. England have any number of good players, and the strength in depth they have is a reflection of the work being done in the academies, but they need to stand up and demand more from themselves. They have a good coaching set-up and terrific facilities but they have to raise their standards and aspire to being the greatest team in the world. It has to come from within – and quickly.”
• Phil Vickery is heading a competition by Sharp’s Brewery, the producer of Doom Bar, to find players for the London Beach Rugby tournament in August. Applications close on 21 May
