After a riotous welcome at Heathrow Airport to greet England’s rugby heroes as they arrived home with the Webb Ellis Trophy, fly half Jonny Wilkinson said, “The team was overawed by the support as we were coming into the airport. Seeing that was hugely humbling.”

In response to journalists at the team’s hotel base in Bagshot he said, “I am desperately keen to maintain the lifestyle I have and will always want to enjoy my game of rugby at the weekend. The only way I can enjoy that rugby is to know I have prepared as well as I can and performed for the people who are watching and who have paid for it. The Rugby World Cup was a hugely intense part of my life and there were huge expectations but seeing Martin Johnson and the rest of the guys being able to simply get on with it was something I have learned from immensely. In every sense I know I have been lucky enough to be involved in this set up.”

Of his old school, Lord Wandsworth he said, “I was very lucky to go to that school and it contributed a massive amount to allowing me to have the life I have, to try to find out what sort of person I was. I got a huge amount from the people back there. I will certainly remember going there and be grateful for the people there and what I learned.”

Clive Woodward, sitting behind the Webb Ellis trophy, told the media, “The support from the England fans in the stadium in Sydney is something we’ll never forget and seeing everyone at the airport was very, very special. When we saw so many white shirts it was just fantastic. To have so many people at the airport, especially at that time in the morning, makes you proud to be English and proud to come home. Winning the World Cup was a massive credit to Martin Johnson and the team, we have worked very hard for it. This is a very experienced group of players. I have no doubt their lives will be changed to a certain degree but they will take it in their stride as professional sportsmen. They will handle all this calmly and enjoy it. We should be very proud of them and of what they are doing for rugby.”

England Captain Martin Johnson said, “When you’re away playing in the Rugby World Cup, although you have such massive support, you are cocooned a little bit because it is a game of rugby and you need to win it. We had no idea what was going on at home and to see all the fans here to meet us was something we will never forget.”

Asked by journalists if he would now think of retiring, he said, “People have been asking me that for 18 months but you don’t think of retiring when you are going into a Rugby World Cup. A number of us are getting a bit older and have to fend off those questions. But this is not the right time to make those kind of decisions. You need to make them when you have time to reflect, to talk to the coaches and your family. You never want to leave playing for England, especially when you are winning. It’s a decision you have to make for yourself and I will do that when the time is right.

“At the moment I’m just heading back to my club. We are all going back to our clubs, that is what we do for a living. Like everyone else we have to go to work tomorrow morning. The strength of the domestic league game contributed to England’s success. We are used to playing very competitive rugby week in and week out and we found ourselves in the World Cup feeling that we were the stronger team, the tougher team. I don’t think that many of the squad are that comfortable in the limelight. We are the same people we were on the Saturday morning before we played in the World Cup final, although we are grateful for the support of the fans and humbled by it.”

A journalist asked Andy Robinson whether he knew that in the Bath clubhouse supporters had been puzzled by Andre Watson’s refereeing of the scrummage in the final and whether they had exchanged words afterwards. “We have not actually had time to look at the video,” said Andy. “We need to do that and at all the occasions when we have given penalties away and look to address that. We did have a quiet word with him after the game but he said, ‘look at the tapes’. So we will look at them and take it from there.”
Lawrence Dallaglio said the squad had found their homecoming overwhelming. “We worked incredibly hard to get to where we are today. We’ve done it step by step and at the end of it was the World Cup.”

He said that he felt the status of northern hemisphere rugby had been raised by this World Cup, by talent displayed not just by England but by Ireland, Wales and by Scotland and having the next Rugby World Cup in France would certainly build on this.

Asked about the emotion everyone saw on his face at the start of the semi final he said, “It is an emotional time and the France game was certainly one we were very pumped up for. After the match guys take it in different ways but when you are all in there together in the changing room afterwards and you can close the doors and realize you have actually won it’s amazing. As for the support, we could feel it building from the time we arrived and from the quarter finals you could feel that the number of England fans was growing and growing. To see all the white and red shirts inspired the players for the final and victory was as much down to that as to the team.”

Will Greenwood, eager to head off to see his partner Caro, said, “She watched the match although she couldn’t be there but to have the wives and girlfriends around certainly helped the squad.”

Talking of the baby that they lost, he said, “Freddy is always with me and, of course, the plan would have been to have him and his mum out there. He would have been about eight months old. He will always be our first child and we are hoping for a little brother or sister for Freddy soon. Losing him is something I have had to live with but the rugby is a real release for me, especially playing Australia in the Rugby World Cup final. I am not the only person in the squad who has had heartache. We are 31 tough guys who have been through a lot, good times, bad times but we keep getting up and asking for more and what we have been through we have learned from.

“As Vince Lombardi said, sport is not about never falling over, it’s about getting up every time you do and out there at the World Cup final when Elton Flatley sent another penalty between the posts there was not one look of panic and not one look of fear. These were the same guys we had trained and played with and it stood us in good stead. We knew if we were tired they would be more tired because our pack had done such a good job.”

Matt Dawson said that he felt Jonny Wilkinson had been exceptional at dealing with the pressures that surrounded him. “We have all been surrounded by fantastic and very professional people and they will ensure that we have as smooth a ride as possible in our futures. Sitting here in front of all the media, having just left thousands of fans and a fantastic atmosphere at the airport, it doesn’t get much better than coming home.

“We have all had hundreds of messages and faxes and it’s one of those times when each of the players in the squad thinks of the people or the moments in their lives that have got them to where they are today. Certainly, part of that for me is my school at RGS High Wycombe. I know they are very proud of me and I am very proud to have gone there, it was a huge part of my rugby development.

“Going back to Northampton will be great, it’s a huge rugby town and Keith Barwell has created great passion at Franklins Gardens. Four of the lads and the physio are going back there and hopefully we’ll take the trophy there one day to show it to the town.”

Ben Cohen, whose smile seemed to have set at permanent, talked of the impact the win might have on the game in England. “Being a successful side I hope will see more people playing the game. I’m sure that they will and I know that the RFU pumps a lot of money into the grass roots. I just hope that a lot more players get involved and enjoy playing rugby.”