Player Ratings – England v Australia – RWC2003

By Chris Chaplin
November 24 2003

As my heart has stopped pounding, my head has settled down to it’s normal non alcohol inflated size and the enormity of the England team’s achievement has finally sunk in I have at last thought soberly (at last) about the performance of the English Lionhearts.

Trevor Woodman played to his absolute strengths. He scrummaged well and made some good gains in the loose. Was steadfast in defence but suffered at the hands, or rather whistle, of Andre Watson. The only blemish otherwise was silly punch early on. 7/10

Steve Thompson did some good work in the loose and like his pals in the front row had the best of the Wallabies all evening (or morning depending on where you watched the drama unfold) His throwing though was frankly dreadful. 6/10

Phil Vickery also suffered from referee Watson’s determination not to permit any scrummaging to take place (thank goodness Julian White wasn’t playing). The Vickster looks to have put on some weight since his long absence through injury earlier in the year and perhaps in consequence is not the player he once was in the loose, when he was a ball carrier par excellence. 6/10

Martin Johnson was simply immense, awesome and fantastic. I thought he played jolly well! I think I counted his stealing four consecutive line outs from the Wallabies on their throw. Was key in the match winning goal from Wilko. Tackled like a man possessed and carried the ball better than I have ever seen. Extraordinary and if he’d not lost a line out on England’s ball would have scored a perfect 10. As it is 9/10

Ben Kay will be disappointed with his performance in his first World Cup Final. Performed well in the lineout but in the shadow of a towering performance from Johnno. Handling was well below that of which we know he is capable. 6/10

Richard Hill was back with a vengeance. Carried the ball well. All but wiped out the threat of his opposite number and was exceptional in defence. 8/10

Neil Back put aside his bus pass and produced another fantastic performance. Superb tackling. A key player in linking the half backs to the dominant pack. Wonderful. 9/10

Lawrence Dallaglio having teased us for the whole of the tournament produced a bravura display of power and commitment. Was also close to a higher mark had it not been for his giving away two daft and potentially costly penalties. 8/10

Matt Dawson produced his finest performance in an England shirt. Superb spacial awareness, he saw opportunities and took them all match. Incredibly brave and with Johnno made the final and match winning score. 9/10

Jonny Wilkinson at last appeared from the shadows and lit up this magnificent match. Oddly a little below par with his kicking in spite of his winning drop goal and for me his playmaking and defence were the highlights of his performance with his try making pass to Robinson just sublime. 9/10

Ben Cohen looked frustrated that he could not get more fully engaged in the action. Endlessly enthusiastic and the close attention that he got from the Wallaby defence gave freer rein for Jason Robinson. 7/10

Mike Tindall fully justified his selection and showed his range of talent, which extends well above the “bish bosh” that we’ve seen during the tournament. Great kicking and defence which, in harness with Greenwood, effectively took Mortlock and Flatley out of the game. 8/10

Will Greenwood for once was a bit of an unsung hero. Superb defence and created an awful lot of the dominance that the English midfield enjoyed. Some dodgy handling when in attack went against his score. 8/10

Jason Robinson as his at his irrepressible best. He cannot blamed for Tuqiri’s try – it was never a contest and in any event he later on stopped that very same man from scoring what would have been a killer try. His own try showed great running off the ball and post score his passion was a joy to behold – a film clip to be shown for many years I suspect. 9/10

Josh Lewsey couldn’t quite get away but came close to breaking through the Wallaby defence on several occasions and created space as a consequence. His defence was never an issue. 7/10

Replacements
The more stolid Jason Leonard (7/10) seemed to attract Andre Watson’s attention somewhat less and the penalties slowed after his arrival. Lewis Moody (8/10) reined in his natural exuberance and his adrenalin and made a good contribution not least his line out win that ultimately led to the winning score. Mike Catt (8/10) added a new dimension to the attack and strangely enough seemed to break the gain line more easily than his more robust Bath colleague. Iain Balshaw (7/10) was lively when he came on and with Robinson frightened the life out of the defensively fragile Wallaby back three.

Referee. Andre Watson should be relieved that the best team won. Rarely have I seen a more abject performance from an allegedly top class referee. So poor and partial was his performance which saw him penalise the England pack six times – quite why he thought that the dominant English eight and the front row in particular would need to infringe – that it beggared belief and this from a pack that had not conceded a penalty throughout the tournament. The Wallaby front row, frail that it is, failed to engage properly all match yet it was Woodman who was penalised for the misdemeanour. Waugh spent the whole match so far offside that at times I thought that in fairness he should have been given one of the 200 extra England shirts that Nike sent out to supplement the original delivery of tissue paper kit they supplied. Knock-ons also appeared largely the preserve of the England side. Quite dreadful. 3/10

Team Performance did it when it mattered and dug deep when the wheels started to come loose and they ARE the World Champions. 10/10

Coach Woodward is not a man that engenders great affection as far as I’m concerned and some of his selections have been bizarre but he finally got it right and I admire his coolness in the face of merciless sledging which is one thing in which the Aussies can claim to be World Champions. 8/10 (and I promise not to call him ICO until the next Six Nations!!!)

Man of The Match is a real toughy. The easy option is to go for Wilkinson or perhaps Billy The Whizz. However for his magnificent contribution in the line out, tackling, ball carrying, leadership and with Greenwood and Dawson crafting the final score it just has to be Captain marvellous Martin Johnson.