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Neil Back | Neil Back |
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Will to Win by Peter Cornwell. England v South Africa, Twickenham, 2nd December 2000. With impressive victories over Australia and Argentina under their belts, England entered the game against the Springboks with an air of confidence. Having tied the summer test series in South Africa 1-1 with a memorable win in Bloemfontein, England were aware that victory was well within their capabilities. As in Bloemfontein, Jonny Wilkinson proved to be a threat to the South Africans and dissected the posts in just seven minutes to put three points on the board for England. However, the Springboks' reply was swift and Braam Van Straaten leveled the scores within three minutes. England's pack dominated the opening quarter with some punishing forward drives, assisted by some cleverly crafted interplay in the backs and Wilkinson's second penalty on thirteen minutes was just reward for their endeavour. But in typical fashion the Springboks refused to be rolled over. A well worked set move enabled the South Africans to spin the ball wide and with Breyton Paulse's presence on the wing giving South Africa a man over Montgomerie was able to cut through some poor England defence and would have scored if not for Dan Luger's perfectly timed tackle preventing Montgomerie from grounding the ball. The South Africans continued to probe England's defensive line and eventually England conceded a penalty in front of the posts which Van Straaten easily converted and once again brought the score level at 6-6. With just ten minutes remaining until half time the England pack began to assert themselves on the Springboks. Wilkinson secured his third penalty of the match and England nosed ahead once again. The Springboks began to lose their composure under the constant pressure of the home side and it was here that England took full advantage. Wilkinson collected the ball from scrum half Matt Dawson and whilst almost stationary fed Will Greenwood with a cleverly distributed short pass. With a turn of pace Greenwood burst through two South African defenders and headed for the opposition's try line. A shrewd drop of the shoulder enabled Greenwood to side step the two remaining defenders before crossing the line close to the posts. Wilkinson's typically accurate conversion made it 16-6 but Van Straaten reduced the lead to just seven points with a penalty just prior to the break. A fourth penalty from the boot of Wilkinson quickly ensued and England went into the interval 19-9 leaders. South Africa commenced the second half the much stronger side and Van Straaten punished some poor England tackling to score a try just five minutes from the restart. He failed to convert but had managed to reduce the deficit to five points and in doing so placed England on the defence. England weathered the storm and even managed to stretch their lead as South Africa conceded a penalty wide on the left. The Springboks endeavoured to exert some pressure on England and in doing so lost the cohesion that they possessed at the start of the second half. Wilkinson kicked a further two penalties in reply to just three points from Van Straaten. England had defeated the mighty Springboks with a spirited display and in doing so demonstrated their strength in depth and established themselves as one of the most feared sides in the world. |
Fortress Twickenham by Peter Cornwell. Celebrating Englands 3 famous victories against the might of the Southern Hemisphere, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. |
England v South Africa - Investec 2002 by Doug Harker. England 53 - South Africa 3, Twickenham, Novermber 23rd 2002. England: Robinson, Cohen, Tindall, Greenwood, Christophers, Wilkinson, Dawson, Vickery, Leonard, Thompson, Johnson, Kay, Moody, Back, Hill. (Subs): Dallaglio, Gomersall, Healey, Morris, Regan, Stimpson. Scores: Try - Cohen, 2 Tries - Greenwood, Try - Back, Try - Hill, Try - Dallaglio, Penalty Try, 2 Penalties - Wilkinson, Conversion - Wilkinson, Conversion - Dawson, 2 Conversions - Gomersall, 2 Conversions - Stimpson. South Africa: Greef, Paulse, Fleck, James, Lombard, Pretorius, Conradie, Roux, Dalton, Venter, Lambuschagne, Krige, Wannenburg, Van Niekerk. (Subs): Jacobs, Jordaan, Russell, Uys, Van Biljon, Van der Linde, Wentzel. Score : Penalty - Pretorius. |
Champions of Europe by Robert Highton. Leicester Tigers 34 v Stade Francais 30, May 19th 2001. Having just completed a hat trick of domestic titles winning the English premiership for the third year in a row, Leicester Tigers faced the daunting task of playing Stade Francais in Paris in an attempt to win the biggest prize in club rugby, the European Cup. This was the one major honour that had eluded Englands top club side and Martin Johnsons men would have to be at their very best to become European Champions. 15,000 Tigers fans travelled to Paris and inspired their team to a memorable vicotry. Despite outscoring the French champions by two tries to nil, from Leon Lloyd and Neil Back, Leicester trailed entering the final two minutes. The Italian stand off Diego Dominguez had kicked 30 points for Stade and it looked like being just enough for victory. With the clock running down, a brilliant break from man of the match Ausitn Healy ended up with Leon Lloyd going over for a try in the corner. Tim Stimpson rounded off a great afternoon with a touchline conversion that sealed an historic victory. |
World Cup Final 2003 by Peter Cornwell. SOLD OUT. |
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