LEWIS IS STILLMA■MADATX
2003 HERO WILKO HAILS ENGLAND CLASS OF 2019
JONNY WILKINSON rates England’s class of 2019 as better than his legendary 2003 World Cup winners.
Wilkinson, who famously kicked the winning drop goal in the final 16 years ago against Australia, has been working with kickers Owen Farrell and George Ford during the Eddie Jones era.
And after Saturday’s semi-final masterclass against the All Blacks, Wilkinson feels the new generation of all-rounders have taken English rugby to a different level.
“England have this incredible makeup of individuals which is geared to play professional sport at the highest level,” said Wilkinson.
“I think we had it as well. If you had all our guys and sent them back to their mid-twenties and then threw them into that squad and said, ‘Let’s compete’, I think you’d find something very similar because of the internal make-up.
“But when you compare the external stuff, the skills and the speed, then it’s a different game.
“It’s a new generation – these guys are quicker, they’re faster, stronger. Everyone’s more complete.
“Whatever number’s on your you’re able to do everything.”
Wilkinson has spent time with the squad in Tokyo during the past fortnight guiding England’s twin playmakers as they have steered the team through the knockout stages.
“I’ve been working with them since I got out here, doing the usual, and when I was back in England we were doing stuff over the phone,” he said.
“They look as though they’re more than happy with where they are going, and I’m sort of thinking, ‘Well, what can I add?’
“The only thing is from the emotional side, because I’ve been there and experienced the fall-out.”
Having lost a final in 2007 as well as winning one in 2003, Wilkinson’s advice is not to go into their shells and to go out and show the world what they can do against South Africa.
“The reason that was an inspired performance by England against New Zealand was that it was incredibly back from NEIL SQUIRES in Tokyo
composed at the base level but at the other level it was right on the edge,” said Wilkinson, speaking on behalf of Land Rover, Official Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2019.
“The danger of a World Cup Final week is you start getting into recognition and reward, which you think is going to be great, but never ever gets close to the feeling of being in that unknown space, on the edge, which is the joy of playing rugby.
“So for me it’s about bringing it back towards joy this week.”
In 2003, the final had the most dramatic of conclusions, with Australia’s Elton Flatley taking Martin Johnson’s England into extratime with a nerveless last-minute penalty.
It created the canvas for the iconic image of the Wilkinson drop goal.
Wilkinson said it feels like someone else kicked it and he has no interest in wallowing in the reflected glory.
But he does have pride in the trail blazed for his successors.
“What we did in 2003 opened the door for people younger – maybe at the age of 12 like Owen Farrell and George Ford – to go, ‘Wow, these guys can pass left to right hand’,” said Wilkinson.
“Maybe you have got props looking at Phil Vickery thinking, ‘Jeez, he gets around the field’. Suddenly by the age of 21 you have got incredible players.
“Players are going to get better and that’s good because it is as a result of what we were doing. They are not better than us, they are better because of us. That’s the beautiful thing.” it LEWIS HAMILTON has taken another swing at Max Verstappen, claiming he gives the Red Bull driver extra room for fear of being “torpedoed”.
Hamilton had accused Verstappen of careless driving for failing to slow down after Valtteri Bottas’s qualifying crash at the Mexican Grand Prix.
And Hamilton once again had the Dutchman in his sights.
The pair came within inches of a collision at the second corner on Sunday, with both drivers taking to the grass.
Moments later, Verstappen suffered a puncture following a collision with Bottas. “I thought at some stage I would get torpedoed by Max,” said Hamilton (inset).
“I braked into Turn One, and all of a sudden Max is alongside me. If you have ve seen my previous races,s, I always leave Max a lot of space because it is the smartest thing you can do.
“Every driver is slightly different. Some are very smart and aggressive, and some are silly with it.
“So, through those experiences, you give some more space, and with others you don’t have to because they are quite respectful. But with Max it is very likely you are going to come together with him if you don’t give him the extra space.
“I dodon’t think it was inteintentional what hahappened on the first lalap, but he’s a magnet for those kind of things.” Ferrari’s Sebastian Ve Vettel was in agr agreement, saying: “Copy and paste. It is true.” Hamilton’s win in Mexico means he needs to finish only eighth in Sunday’s US Grand Prix to be crowned world champion for a sixth time.
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