JASON’S GLORY DAY
Robinson recalls the glorious day when England ruled rugby world
JASON ROBINSON was rummaging through a bag of old rugby jerseys at his home in Yorkshire the other day when he stumbled across something he had not seen for years – his World Cup winners’ medal.
In a flash that Sydney night when England ruled the rugby world came cascading back. The dive, the try, the possessed punch of the ball in the seconds after. Then extra-time and that drop-goal.
It is 15 years to the day since England beat Australia to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy but Robinson can still picture English rugby’s finest hour like it happened yesterday.
Part of the reason may be because, emotionally spent, he turned down the pub crawl around most of Sydney that saw Lawrence Dallaglio and five team-mates eventually arrive back at the hotel the next afternoon in a police van.
For Robinson, the early night back at the Manly Pacific is his only regret. “If it happens again, I’ll be straight out!” he said.
At 44, Robinson may be struggling for another World Cup final, although he still looks in the shape to leave zig-zags across rugby pitches. The passage of time has been kind but it has passed nonetheless.
“It’s mad that it’s 15 years ago. Time flies,” he said. “That was such a special group and such a special time.”
As with this Saturday’s Cook Cup match against the Wallabies at Twickenham, England were favourites headed into the 2003 final. An army of fans had flown across the world in the hope that history would be made.
“I’d played in lots of big games but, in terms of pressure and expectation, that game was way apart. It was so intense,” he said.
“We were in a nice hotel on Manly Beach but we couldn’t go out because there were thousands of people stood outside wanting to see us. The fans at that tournament were brilliant but I knew what a zoo animal felt like.
“We were big news. I was getting phone calls from family and friends back home saying the media were on the doorstep trying to get a story on me. I had a shocking night’s sleep before the game because of that. I was
spewing, but I had to save my venom for the game.”
As the 9pm kick-off neared, the two teams lined up in the tunnel at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium as 83,000 fans waited.
“You just want to get out there. You’re like a trapped bull. You just want the cage to open,” said Robinson. “When we did, the rows of seats just kept going on and on. It just seemed like there were people sat about three miles away.”
The start could not have been worse for England as Lote Tuqiri outjumped Robinson and Australia took the lead. The response came when Dallaglio broke away and fed Jonny Wilkinson, who found Robinson charging up in support to his left with a clear run to the line.
“Had he passed to the right side then Ben Cohen was under the posts,” said Robinson. “I’ve said to Ben since, ‘He just wanted to make sure!’”
The roar from the tryscorer could almost be heard above the din of the crowd. “It was just an outpouring of emotion. I could have punched straight through a solid brick wall,” said Robinson. “The adrenaline was going absolutely nuts. I scored way better tries in my time but none as important.” Australia refused to go away though and hit back in the second half as Elton Flatley’s late penalty took the game to extratime.
“I never saw any panic. Nobody thought for one second we were losing that game,” said Robinson.
“People do freeze in situations like that but we were in a good place because we had the experience. We’d built up a team who were never fazed. We had done so much work to be the bestprepared team at that World Cup – and we were.
“We weren’t looking to Martin Johnson for leadership – he delivered it anyway – but there was no sense of, ‘What are we doing now Martin?’ Everyone knew their job and could do it well. We were all leaders.”
And when the moment came and fate chose its champion, along came Wilkinson to drop the goal to win the World Cup.
“It was four years in the making,” said Robinson. “We used to practise that every training session. When you wanted someone to guarantee you points, he was the man. Nothing in my career compares to that final whistle blowing, knowing we had won.
“It’s hard enough just being the best in your street, never mind the world, and it’s hard to describe the feeling of knowing for that moment you are the best in the world. Very few sportsmen and women get that. It was just amazing.
“I guess we’ll always be remembered for that.”
JASON ROBINSON is an ambassador for Fuzion100, the official rehydration partner of England Rugby. Follow Fuzion100 on social media and cocofuzion100.co.uk