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Dallaglio: How England players responded at final whistle a 'good sign'
By Online Editors
Lawrence Dallaglio has predicted a special future for England’s World Cup-chasing team ahead of their bid for global glory.
England will complete a clean sweep of victories over southern-hemisphere heavyweights Australia, New Zealand and South Africa on successive weekends if they beat the Springboks in Saturday’s final.
And 2003 England World Cup winner Dallaglio is enthused by what could lie ahead for Eddie Jones’ squad.
“This is a team that is still very much discovering how good they can potentially be,” said Dallaglio, speaking on behalf of Land Rover, Official Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2019.
“The exciting thing is there is a lot more to come from this England side.
“They have now set that benchmark with that performance (victory over New Zealand in the semi-final) right up there, and it’s going to be something quite special, I think.
“To win a World Cup, two of your games normally tend to be against southern-hemisphere teams, but were they to beat all three back to back… I am not sure I can recall that.
“It’s pretty impressive, but they have got one more to go, and that’s the key.”
Reflecting on England’s stunning victory over the All Blacks, Dallaglio added: “It’s one of the all-time great Rugby World Cup performances, full stop.
“I would almost go as far to say it was the most complete England performance we’ve seen for quite some time, if indeed ever – and I say that with a huge amount of pride.
“I think what was even more impressive is that normally when you see a team beat the All Blacks there tends to be a lot of hysteria on the final whistle because it’s a major achievement.
“But I think with this side what was really impressive is that at the final whistle, yes of course they were pleased – there were big smiles, big hugs and everything – but they seemed to be fairly grounded and under control and recognised that it was a semi-final and not a final.
“That is a good sign for this England team.
“If they go on and win it – and it’s going to be a very tough game – to have played the three southern-hemisphere teams on consecutive weekends, I don’t think anyone could deny that they would deserve to win the World Cup.”
Dallaglio is wary of South Africa’s threat on Saturday as they bid for a third world crown following successes in 1995 and 2007.
“We can’t expect that they (England) are just going to go out there and do necessarily what they did to New Zealand,” he said.
“South Africa have proved they are a very difficult side to beat. They have only conceded four tries in the whole tournament, with two of them being against the All Blacks in their first game.
“They are a tough nut to crack, and they are pretty determined as well. Given what England did to New Zealand, they will be favourites in terms of the way they played, but it is going to be difficult.”
If England conquer the rugby world this weekend, similar scenes to 2003 can be expected such as a London victory parade and Downing Street reception.
“They will have achieved something very, very special that is very hard to do,” Dallaglio added.
“I remember from my own experiences, you celebrate it with the country – it’s an amazing achievement and everyone feels very proud.
“If you can start your season by winning the World Cup, then the possibilities are endless after that.”
– Land Rover is Official Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2019. With over 20 years of heritage supporting rugby at all levels, Land Rover is celebrating what makes rugby, rugby. #LandRoverRugby
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Jalibert should be banned from playing for the French ever again, his rank and self-serving arrogance is so typical of the attitude in French rugby and in their culture as well. I am a Saffa and have lived in France for many years and, generally speaking, it's every man for himself, the team comes 2nd or even 3rd sometimes. The Boks show humility and team spirit and play for their country, never themselves......
Go to commentsI remember there was rhetoric about the new coach coming in and continuing the same system Jones installed. That's obviously gone out the window. It was cool watching those clips from the NZ tour, that was a serious Wolfpack. AB players looked like they were being hunted.
What we have now is a shambles. It clear El Abd doesn't know what he's doing and he has no track record to indicate otherwise. His appointment is ridiculous. Nothing against the bloke but he's only got the job because he's mates with Borthers.
When you look at how poorly organised our defence is and how blunt our attack is (Marcus excepted). It pains me to hear these so called pundits banging on about how close England are to being a top side based on narrow losses. England have massive issues, are a long way from being a good side and do not have the coaches to fix the issues. It's a testament to the quality of the players that they're managing to front up enough to compete with these sides.
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