England's 2003 World Cup winning hero Jonny Wilkinson said the champions were still on a World Cup knife edge as they prepared for their make or break clash with Tonga.
World Cup holders England's 44-22 win over Samoa at the Stade de la Beaujoire left them having to beat another Pacific Island side in Tonga at Paris's Parc des Princes on Friday to go through to the last eight.
And win they must to avoid becoming the first champions not to reach the quarter-finals as a draw would see Tonga qualify on points difference.
The injury-plagued Wilkinson, appearing in only his eighth England international since landing the drop-goal that secured victory in the 2003 World Cup final, marked his debut in this tournament with 24 points.
Wilkinson had been forced to sit on the sidelines with an ankle injury sustained during England's first training session in France, and could only watch as they struggled to overcome the United States 28-10 before suffering a 36-0 thrashing by South Africa -- England's record World Cup defeat.
"There's a touch of relief involved. But at the same time you can only enjoy that relief tonight [on Saturday] because tomorrow brings ourselves another game we have to contemplate where the same rules apply," he reflected after England made it five wins in as many Tests against Samoa.
"It's a tough environment to be in, knowing you're hanging by a thread. But we've got ourselves a little bit to blame for being in this position," the 28-year-old added after being successful with nine out of his 12 goalkicks.
Saturday's haul moved Wilkinson ahead of Australia's Michael Lynagh (195) into second place in the list of the World Cup's all-time leading points-scorers with 206, just 21 behind Scotland great Gavin Hastings's tally of 227.
But Wilkinson, England's record points-scorer, played down the importance of another landmark in a statistic-laden career, saying what mattered was getting the team on the board at important times.
"Certain kicks mean so much to you during the game. There was one to take us from four points in front to seven and another to take us to 10, that was a key one," he said.
England, who saw captain Martin Corry and wing Paul Sackey both score two tries apiece, produced by far their best performance of the tournament against Samoa -- although that is not saying much.
However, their lead was reduced to four points early in the second-half after a controversial try from Samoa scrumhalf Junior Polu, his team's other scores coming from the boot of fullback Loki Crichton.
And Australia, England's likely quarter-final opponents should England make the last eight, will have noticed how Wilkinson's kicking out of hand was below par and how Samoa were also able to punch holes in the champions' midfield.
Nevertheless, Wilkinson added: "The mood is good. The frustration comes out of the fact that people can't show that kind of experience and talents that make them special in their chosen field of work. There's a little bit more of a feeling that today [on Saturday] the guys could start to do that."
Defeat ended Samoa's quarter-final hopes after their surprise 15-19 reverse against Tonga.
Beaten coach Michael Jones, who said he would be stepping down from the part-time position to concentrate on his career with a shipping firm, was generous in his praise of England.
"They hang tough, that's a sign of a good team and they put us to the sword in the last 10 minutes," he said.
And Jones, a World Cup-winning flanker with New Zealand in 1987, said he expected England to go on and reach the knockout stages despite Tonga's capacity to spring another surprise.
"They've got the talent pool to cause an upset. But I still think England has too much firepower," Jones said.
Ademola Lookman on Thursday scored on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 5-0 rout of Real Betis Balompie that sent Diego Simeone’s team to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. David Hancko, Giuliano Simeone, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada also scored for Atletico as they advanced to the last four for the third straight season. Atletico are trying to reach their first Copa final since winning the competition in 2012-2013. Hancko opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Giuliano Simeone added to the lead in the 30th, before Lookman got his first goal for Atletico on a fast
France head coach Fabien Galthie on Thursday lauded his team’s attacking performance after their dazzling 36-14 victory over Ireland in their Six Nations opener. A brace of tries from Louis Bielley-Biarrey and one from mercurial flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert helped France storm into a 29-0 lead before taking their foot off the gas and allowing Ireland back into the match, before winger Theo Attissogbe put some gloss on the victory late on. “In an attacking sense, with the ball, the team played with great accuracy,” Galthie said. “It was one of the most accurate attacking performances in a long time, despite the weather
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
Kawhi Leonard on Sunday scored 41 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals to lead the Los Angeles Clippers in a lopsided 115-96 victory at Minnesota. The 34-year-old forward, a two-time NBA champion, matched the second-best road scoring effort of his career as the Clippers improved to 25-27. “Just being aggressive. My teammates trust me,” Leonard said. “Every moment when I touch the ball — assist, shooting the basketball or getting a rebound — I’m just trying to help the team win.” Leonard made three steals in a row at the start of the contest. “Just wanted to come out early in the
RSS