2003 and all that...

You may have noticed that certain sections of the media are trying to hype up the England v Oz match at HQ tomorrow as being some sort of 10th anniversary rematch of the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final.

And therein lies the problem with the English rugby psyche. Quite aside from historical inaccuracy (22nd November being the actual 10th anniversary), isn’t it about time to, well, you know, let 2003 go?

Don’t get me wrong…even today the memories of that superb day send a shiver down my spine and cause the hairs on the back of my neck (which are many and grey) to stand up.  Great, great times but, come on, shouldn’t they now be consigned firmly to history?

Since winning the World Cup, English rugby appears to have been locked in a cycle of perennial underachievement and until we move on I suspect it will only continue. Forget the past - it’s time to create a new history. Not just the players and coaches, but also the English rugby public and, especially, the media.

Forget 2003, lest it becomes the equivalent of English football’s 1966.

Here endeth the lesson…