Heroes from 2003 Reunite
Every England rugby fan old enough to remember knows exactly where they were when their team won the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
As the current England squad took on New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, the heroes from 2003 walked back out onto the hallowed turf at half-time to salute fans and lift the trophy once more.
The squad wants to create a social/commercial brand to encompass a range of support to include mental health and employment help. Their pathways app will include selling products, raising money through their charity and providing help through a hardship fund.
“This is intended to stop retiring players being left to their own devices,” said Ben Cohen, one of the 2003 squad driving a new initiative Championing Champions.
“When you retire from playing the world is a lonely place that you’re not equipped for. You can lose your identity, suffer from depression. What we want as the 2003 Rugby World Cup winners is for players to know that they are not on their own.”
When the stadium lights went out
Cohen says many former players are left in the dark once those stadium lights go out and he and the rest of the squad want to create a new legacy more than 20 years later and make an impact both for past players and those who will leave professional rugby in the future.
“Once you leave the comfort blanket of the rugby huddle and hit the lonely world of the civvy street hustle life changes,” he says. “You’ve given years and years in a place where everyone says yes to you, everything but your sport falls by the wayside, then suddenly outside rugby you find you’re not fit for purpose. You’re still training hard because that’s bred into you but you’re on your own in a scary place; we want to help stop players suffering in that post-sport transition.”
“Being alone and not fit for purpose when it comes to the world of work, with no direction and no appropriate tools to get a decent job, is not where players should be. They have world beating skills that don’t transfer to civvy street. So, we want to equip players with pathways to jobs, therapy and a skill set for life outside professional rugby.”
The recently launched initiative was the brainchild of a famous five from 2003: Cohen, Ben Kay, Matt Dawson, Mike Tindall and Phil Vickery. They were at Allianz Stadium with the squad, and went out onto the pitch at half-time with the 2003 trophy.
Back on 22 November 2003, Jason Robinson’s try saw Matt Dawson send the ball out of a ruck to Lawrence Dallaglio, who passed it to Jonny Wilkinson to ship it beyond Wallabies Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers to Robinson. It remains the only try scored by an Englishman in a Rugby World Cup final.
“That continuity of play, running supporting lines, reading what the players around you are up to, was both impromptu and practised a lot,” said Dawson. “ That line from Lawrence I was used to, I could hear him, and Jonny was reacting to him. Jason was so prolific in that left-hand corner you knew if you gave it to him early, he was going to finish. He very rarely missed those opportunities.
“The Champions launch at Allianz Stadium was phenomenal. Being in the stadium with the 03 guys on such a big day couldn’t have been better, the reception from the crowd and the chance to reminisce. It was very nostalgic, being on the pitch in a white shirt as a group again for the first time and trying to create that post career legacy was fantastic. It was thanks to the RFU, who helped it happen. The next night’s Dorchester dinner was a great success too but the most important thing for the squad was being there for one another, not just for ourselves but all those people who love and supported that team from 2003.”
The Champions ‘03 Dinner at the Dorchester compered by fan favourite, TV pundit and former England player David Flatman, with Jimmy Carr providing the laughs, continued the reunion.
Replica shirts were on sale at the stadium’s Rugby Store on match day and there will be exclusive signed 2003 replica shirts, the first being presented to Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, who is England Rugby Patron.
A TNT documentary ‘Unbreakable: England 2003’ will be released soon. And fans will be able to toast the Champions with some specially brewed Golden Drop beer and remember where they were when Jonny dropped for world cup glory.
