by Peter Burns
21. The brains trust. Woodward, Dave Alred, Phil Larder and Andy Robinson with the Six Nations trophy. Getty Images
22. Captain fantastic. Martin Johnson powers into space against the All Blacks in Wellington in the summer of 2003 as England record a famous win against the odds, playing with just thirteen men at one stage of the game. Getty Images
23. Will Greenwood, the man Woodward described as ‘the best player I have ever seen play in the centre for England’, scores in the crucial pool game against South Africa at the 2003 World Cup. With all his troubles at home it was a remarkable performance. ‘If you watch the replays you can see a smile on my face,’ said Greenwood, ‘because for a short time rugby had pushed the worry from my mind. There are not many jobs you can say that about.’ Getty Images
24. Nature versus nature? Manu Samoa perform the Siva Tau before their World Cup pool game against England. Getty Images
25. ‘Too old?’ Neil Back asked when questioned about the Dad’s Army moniker. ‘You’re either good enough or you’re not. If people say you’re not good enough, then fair enough. But too old? That doesn’t mean anything.’ He proves his point as part of a magnificent England performance against France in the semi-final of the World Cup. FotoSport
26. After having suffered uncharacteristic inconsistency with his kicking early in the World Cup, Wilkinson was deadly in front of goal in the semi-final. He kicked five penalties and three drop-goals (two of which he struck with his weaker right foot) to collect all of England’s twenty-seven points and consign France to a third-place place play-off match against the All Blacks. FotoSport
27. Just as he had done in the opening minutes of the First Test for the Lions in 2001, Robinson tore down the left-hand touchline without a finger being laid on him to score against Australia in the final. FotoSport
28. Matt Dawson delivers the ball to Wilkinson for his drop-goal attempt. ‘Dawson was my number one scrum-half – primarily because of his brain,’ said Woodward. ‘The way I saw it, this was the biggest pressure moment of all our lives, why would I take off Dawson for someone who I don’t think would handle the pressure as well?’ Getty Images
29. The kick that reverberated around the world. Getty Images
30. Will Greenwood collapses with joy at the final whistle. Getty Images
31. England’s finest ever back-row combination, the Holy Trinity of Neil Back, Lawrence Dallaglio and Richard Hill, celebrate reaching the promised land. FotoSport
32. World Champions. FotoSport
33. The players take part in an open-top bus parade through the streets of London. The RFU estimated that some 20,000 spectators might turn up to watch the team show off the World Cup but more than 750,000 people came out to celebrate. FotoSport
1. Clive Woodward in action for England during the tour of Argentina, June 1981. Getty Images
2. Earle Kirton, the former All Black fly-half who became Woodward’s Harlequins coach. He encouraged Woodward to attack from anywhere on the field.
3. Jim Greenwood. ‘He was an amazing, amazing man,’ recalled Woodward. ‘A pure genius. I learned so much from him – not just in terms of technique but in the philosophy of how to play and how to enjoy the game to its fullest.’
4. Chalkie White holds the JPS Cup with his Leicester players in May 1981. ‘Chalkie was a great guy to talk to,’ said Woodward. ‘He was always ready to listen to ideas that you might have. He might disagree with them, he might argue with you over opinions or points, but he would always listen. From a player’s point of view, that kind of open rapport with a coach is hugely important.’ Getty Images
5. Alan Jones. The Wallaby coach loved to think outside the box and was arguably the first rugby coach to introduce business principles to the sporting environment – an approach that would prove inspirational to Clive Woodward. Getty Images
6. England unveil their new coach. From left to right: Roger Uttley, Bill Beaumont, Clive Woodward, Frank Cotton and John Mitchell. “When I started in September 1997, I wouldn’t say it was through default as such, but it kind of just happened out of leftfield. And you just start. It’s like running a small business, you’re just in it and you’re flying by the seat of your pants. You think you’re doing all the right things but you don’t really know – you’re just doing it.” Getty Images
7. A new captain and a new era. Lawrence Dallaglio leads his team out to face Australia at Twickenham in the autumn of 1997 in Clive Woodward’s first match in charge. FotoSport
8. Jonny Wilkinson in action against Australia on the 1998 Tour of Hell. Although he was devastated by the results, the tour would have a huge impact on him. ‘I make a promise to myself – I am never going to feel this way again. I’m never going to feel so helpless, never going to feel so second-rate, never going to allow myself to feel as unvalued as that. Never. The day we were defeated 76–0 is one of the worst and most important days of my life.’ Getty Images
9. Returning to Twickenham after the Tour of Hell and with their front-line players returned to the starting line-up, England turn the tables on South Africa to win 13–7. Getty Images
10. Jonah Lomu repeats his 1995 World Cup demolition of England with another brutal performance in the 1999 World Cup group game that consigned England to a quarter-final play-off game and the prospect of facing South Africa in the quarter-final. FotoSport
11. Jannie de Beer kicks one of his five drop-goals that sent England out of the 1999 World Cup. ‘You learn from experiences like that,’ said Dallaglio, ‘and over the following seasons, Clive never let us forget how we felt on the journey home from Paris... He touched a raw nerve and when he saw us wince with pain, he touched it again and again.’ Getty Images
12. The moment many have marked as the true turning point in England’s fortunes during the Woodward years: the team celebrate beating South Africa in Pretoria in the summer of 2000. ‘We had come to South Africa and drawn the Test series 1–1 but we all knew we should have won it 2–0,’ said Dallaglio. ‘That tour convinced us all that Clive was the right man... We felt like we were part of an elite group.’ Getty Images
13. It takes twenty seconds to score. With the clock ticking deep into injury time against the Wallabies at Twickenham in November 2000, Iain Balshaw chips to the corner and Dan Luger gains enough downward pressure to score the winning try. Getty Images
14. Austin Healey celebrates scoring against Italy at Twickenham. England dominated in the spring of 2001 before the foot-and-mouth outbreak delayed the completion of the Six Nations until the autumn. ‘You’d wake up on a Saturday morning and no matter who you were playing, you were just so excited about the game,’ said Woodward. ‘It was real Jim Greenwood stuff, because you just knew your team was going to go out and play; you just knew.’ FotoSport
15. Jason Robinson shows the Twickenham crowd just how electric he is after coming off the bench against Scotland in 2001. ‘There was a bit of negativity around Robinson when we brought him across from rugby league,’ recalled Woodward. ‘But after a couple of games you had about four hundred people sitting around you shouting, ‘Bring on Robinson! Get Robinson on!’ Getty Images
16. Jonny Wilkinson was hounded throughout the 2002 Six Nations clash with France by Serge Betsen, which cost England yet another Grand Slam. When England met France the following year, they would always ensure that the pressure on Wilkinson was eased by having a second playmaker alongside him in the midfield. Getty Images
17. Ben Cohen makes a break against New Zealand at Twickenham in November 2002 and flies in to score as England go on to record a famous 31–28 victory. Getty Images
18. Josh Lewsey returns to the England fold in dramatic fashion against Italy at Twickenham in the 2003 Six Nations and shakes up the back-three options available to Woodward just months before the World Cup. FotoSport
19. Jonny Wilkinson hammers Justin Bishop during the 2003 Grand Slam decider. ‘Jonny Wilkinson was magnificent,’ said Greenwood of his fly-half’s performance. ‘A man who leave
s nothing to chance, he was awe-inspiring that day. We had our tactical differences, but after that match I vowed to always back him up. If he was willing to put that much effort in for a team then the rest didn’t matter.’ FotoSport
20. After five heart-wrenchingly close attempts, Woodward finally achieved his first Grand Slam as a coach. ‘Had we lost this game the ramifications would have been huge,’ he said in the aftermath of the match. ‘People would have said again that this is a team that cannot win the big games. If we hadn’t nailed this one, it would have been tough to recover and it would have made the months going into the World Cup even harder. We responded with a colossal performance.’ Getty Images
21. The brains trust. Woodward, Dave Alred, Phil Larder and Andy Robinson with the Six Nations trophy. Getty Images
22. Captain fantastic. Martin Johnson powers into space against the All Blacks in Wellington in the summer of 2003 as England record a famous win against the odds, playing with just thirteen men at one stage of the game. Getty Images
23. Will Greenwood, the man Woodward described as ‘the best player I have ever seen play in the centre for England’, scores in the crucial pool game against South Africa at the 2003 World Cup. With all his troubles at home it was a remarkable performance. ‘If you watch the replays you can see a smile on my face,’ said Greenwood, ‘because for a short time rugby had pushed the worry from my mind. There are not many jobs you can say that about.’ Getty Images
24. Nature versus nature? Manu Samoa perform the Siva Tau before their World Cup pool game against England. Getty Images
25. ‘Too old?’ Neil Back asked when questioned about the Dad’s Army moniker. ‘You’re either good enough or you’re not. If people say you’re not good enough, then fair enough. But too old? That doesn’t mean anything.’ He proves his point as part of a magnificent England performance against France in the semi-final of the World Cup. FotoSport
26. After having suffered uncharacteristic inconsistency with his kicking early in the World Cup, Wilkinson was deadly in front of goal in the semi-final. He kicked five penalties and three drop-goals (two of which he struck with his weaker right foot) to collect all of England’s twenty-seven points and consign France to a third-place place play-off match against the All Blacks. FotoSport
27. Just as he had done in the opening minutes of the First Test for the Lions in 2001, Robinson tore down the left-hand touchline without a finger being laid on him to score against Australia in the final. FotoSport
28. Matt Dawson delivers the ball to Wilkinson for his drop-goal attempt. ‘Dawson was my number one scrum-half – primarily because of his brain,’ said Woodward. ‘The way I saw it, this was the biggest pressure moment of all our lives, why would I take off Dawson for someone who I don’t think would handle the pressure as well?’ Getty Images
29. The kick that reverberated around the world. Getty Images
30. Will Greenwood collapses with joy at the final whistle. Getty Images
31. England’s finest ever back-row combination, the Holy Trinity of Neil Back, Lawrence Dallaglio and Richard Hill, celebrate reaching the promised land. FotoSport
32. World Champions. FotoSport
33. The players take part in an open-top bus parade through the streets of London. The RFU estimated that some 20,000 spectators might turn up to watch the team show off the World Cup but more than 750,000 people came out to celebrate. FotoSport