Jonny Wilkinson kicked a dropped goal with 26 seconds remaining in extra time as England edged defending champion Australia 20-17 in Saturday's wet World Cup final and became the first European winner of rugby's ultimate prize.
The 24-year-old flyhalf had missed three attempted dropped goals, but his shot from about 30m ensured the title after the Wallabies had twice rallied to level the score and the decider appeared set to go into sudden-death extra time.
PHOTO: AP
"It's something we've worked at for four or five years," said Wilkinson."We've put ourselves under pressure, and we feel like we deserve this.''
PHOTO: AP
Wilkinson landed a place kick from 46m two minutes into extra time and Flatley equalized at 17-all in the 19th minute of extra time for his second high-pressure goal.
Flatley had earlier landed a shot from 15 meters inside the touchline in the last minute of regulation to lock the scores at 14-all and force extra time.
PHOTO: AFP
Wilkinson was hoisted into the air by No. 8 Lawrence Dallaglio and English and Australian players dropped to the ground in exhaustion after 100 minutes of rugby on Sydney's rain-soaked Olympic stadium.
PHOTO: AP
Towering England lock Martin Johnson, playing a record 18th consecutive World Cup match including 11 as captain, held the Webb Ellis Cup above his head in a triumphant pose as tens of thousands of English fans in the Cup record 82,957 roared with delight.
It was England's first success in a football World Cup of any kind since the 1966 soccer World Cup and it avenged a 12-6 loss to Australia in the 1991 rugby final.
"This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen. I am speechless. Fantastic, unbelievable," said England coach Clive Woodward. ``My emotions? I was going nuts. We kept putting ourselves in trouble, making error after error.
"But who cares what I say? We have won the World Cup. I can't wait to go home on Monday. We kept going on about the drop-goal routine but it takes 15 players. The whole team was brilliant."
Johnson paid tribute to everyone in the English camp.
"It was a huge effort from the entire squad, the backroom staff, the coaches and the physios, and thanks to the fans who have been brilliant," Johnson said.
"I can't say enough about the team. We had the lead then lost it, then came back and Wilko at the end -- I just can't say enough.
"We were frustrated in the second half, but credit to Australia, they are a very good team and made it difficult for us. With 20 minutes of extra time it could go either way.
"But with Wilko there at the end, you wouldn't have anyone else there, would you?"
England prop Jason Leonard, who was on the losing side 12 years ago, went on for Phil Vickery in extra time to extend his international record to 113 test caps, two more than Frenchman Philippe Sella.
England had been ranked No. 1 ahead of the tournament and had lost just five games in four years since bowing out of the last World Cup in a quarterfinal loss to South Africa.
It was the second time a World Cup final had been decided with a dropped goal in extra time.
Joel Stransky kicked a dramatic extra-time dropped goal to give South Africa a 15-12 victory over New Zealand in 1995.
Wilkinson landed three long-range penalties in the first half and Jason Robinson crossed in the left corner in the 38th to counter Lote Tuqiri's try for the Wallabies as England took a 14-5 lead into half time.
Flatley, who missed three attempts in the first half, landed goals in the 44th, 61st and 80th minutes in a tryless second half as the Wallabies rallied to set up a thriller.
The English took two earlier shots at dropped goals in extra time, with Justin Harrison charging down Mike Catt's attempt and Wilkinson skidding a shot wide in the 9th minute.
Tuqiri had given Australia a 5-0 lead when he leaped over Robinson to take Stephen Larkham's bomb into the left corner and landed in-goal in the first exchange between the two former rugby league internationals. Flatley's attempted conversion from the touchline hit the near upright.
The Australians had showed an early intention to run the ball at all costs, despite the slippery conditions, spreading it wide from the kick off and the next three times they held possession.
The first time England had the ball in the attacking half, Wilkinson was successful with a place kick from 46 meters in the 12th minute. He gave England a one-point lead eight minutes later with a goal from 44 meters, after Larkham was penalized for tackling a man without the ball.
Larkham subsequently left the field to get two stitches inserted in his bottom lip, allowing 21-year-old Matt Giteau onto the field as the youngest Australian ever to play in a World Cup final. Larkham left the field twice more for treatment in the blood bin.
The Australians upset New Zealand 22-10 in dry conditions for last week's first semifinal, while Wilkinson kicked all of England's points in a 24-7 win in the wet against France.
Kylian Mbappe struck from the penalty spot as Real Madrid beat a dogged CA Osasuna 1-0 on Tuesday to make a winning start in Spanish La Liga under new coach Xabi Alonso. The France striker, last season’s European Golden Shoe winner, scored early in the second half, after he was fouled in the area by Osasuna defender Juan Cruz. It was enough to seal the points in Alonso’s first game in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Madrid now unbeaten in their opening fixture of a league campaign since 2008. “You can see that Kylian wants to do even more
TO THE TOP: After securing the international title on Saturday, Team Taiwan were to face Las Vegas to potentially win their 18th Little League World Series championship A team from Taipei’s Dong Yuan Elementary School won the Little League Baseball World Series’ international title on Saturday by defeating Aruba 1-0 in the annual baseball tournament held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Taiwan team, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, were after press time last night to face a team from Las Vegas, Nevada, which beat a team from Fairfield, Connecticut, in the US championship 8-2. Taiwan are seeking to win their first Little League Baseball World Series title since 1996. “Really haven’t taken a moment to data dump right now on Taiwan,” Nevada manager T.J. Fescher said. “They’re a
‘CATASTROPHE’: Despite losing several key forwards in the summer transfer window, Bayern were up 3-0 in the first half before Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in the second Harry Kane hit a hat-trick, Michael Olise a double and newcomer Luis Diaz also scored as Bayern Munich made a “statement” against RB Leipzig 6-0 at home in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday. Bayern’s big-money arrivals, all brought in from the Premier League across the past three seasons, were dominant as the Bavarians begun their title defense in style. Olise scored twice in the first half, either side of a Diaz strike. Not to be outdone, Kane scored three goals in the second half — with two assists coming from Diaz, to bring Bayern’s total to 6-0. Kane told the Bundesliga
Kevin de Bruyne is to lead SSC Napoli’s Serie A title defense today when he makes his full debut at promoted US Sassuolo, but the champions head into the new season rocked by a long-term injury to star striker Romelu Lukaku. De Bruyne was, alongside aging icon Luka Modric, the big new name to arrive in Italy this summer and fans were hoping his linkup with Belgium teammate Lukaku would push Napoli to success both at home and in their return to the UEFA Champions League. The 34-year-old has suffered from hamstring injuries which caused him to miss significant chunks of the
RSS