World Cup 2007

In one of the most astonishing against-the-odds performances, the unfancied England rugby team swept their way to the World Cup final with a series of increasingly defiant, resilient and inspirational performances. With neat symmetry, their opponents in the final were South Africa, the team that had defeated them 36-0 earlier in the tournament. After winning the 2003 World Cup, England had struggled to find consistency, with retirements and injury problems causing all sorts of problems. With less than a year to go to the start of the 2007 World Cup in France, a new coach, Brian Ashton, was brought in, but still results struggled to improve. England began the tournament with a shaky win over the USA, followed by that disastrous defeat against the Boks. Suddenly, every game was a sudden death encounter. Samoa and Tonga were beaten to set up a quarter-final showdown with Australia. In a game of unbearable tension, Jonny Wilkinson's boot saw England through to a semi-final date with hosts France. With ten minutes left on the clock, England still trailed les bleus until Jonny stepped up to send them through to the final. Then came the nailbiting drama of the big match itself...In this gripping insider's account of one of sport's greatest turnrounds, the England team reveal how they bounced back from their early setbacks to prove once more that they were a match for any team on the planet, only falling short at the final hurdle, and just what it felt like to be playing in some of the most astonishing games in the sport's history.
This is a book all rugby fans will want.