History inspires Woodward

England’s rugby union stars will end a painful 37-year wait for global sporting glory if they beat holders Australia in the World Cup final at Telstra Stadium on Saturday.

And red rose supremo Clive Woodward admits that the memory of the England soccer team’s World Cup success against Germany in 1966 is still a vivid one.

Woodward was just 10-years-old when Bobby Moore lifted the famous gold trophy at Wembley, but that momentous triumph has rarely threatened to be matched since by any English team.

That could all change this week though, with England’s rugby heroes now just one win away from sporting immortality.

“I remember the 1966 World Cup final clearly, you can name the team and the whole thing,” said Woodward.

“I watched it at home on an air force base with my dad. I remember it very clearly, and it’s those things that drive you on, not just the football and rugby, you want to see all English sport going well.

“England is a sporting-nuts country. We are probably more crazy about sport than the Australians, we just don’t quite do it the same way or take it as seriously, which is our fault.

“I just find it extremely frustrating, especially having lived in Australia. We have got the talent, but Australia is just fantastic at bringing out the best.”

Woodward will realise his crowning moment, six years after taking over the England job, if Martin Johnson and company triumph.

“My only goal when I left my business and took over this thing was to be the best team in the world. We’ve got a chance of doing that, and the last England team to do that was in 1966,” he added.

“Since we lost in Paris last year, we have won 21 out of 22 games. We’ve got a very experienced team who know how to win Test matches, and now we’ve got to take everything in our stride.

“In six years, we’ve been through some fantastic times and had some bitter experiences, but it came to a stage a couple of years ago when all the learning had kind of been done.

“A lot of it’s down to Martin Johnson, who I believe is the best captain in world rugby, but there are a lot of brains out there with him. People like Dallaglio, Dawson, Back and Wilkinson.

“I think the high point was a year ago against Australia when we were 12 points down at Twickenham, and in the last 25 minutes there was no panic and we pulled our way back into the match.”

That 32-31 win over Australia is part of a sequence of four successive victories over the world champions since the Wallabies claimed their crown.

The last was England’s first-ever Down Under, a 24-15 win at Melbourne five months ago that established them as World Cup favourites.

Woodward believes they can triumph again if they maintain their focus during the build-up, but insists he won’t be disappointed if Australia play better on the day.

“The most important thing is that we do everything possible to win this game on Saturday night,” he said.

“We’ve had fantastic support from the Zurich Premiership clubs and from the Rugby Football Union, but it’s sport. There are no guarantees of winning anything.

“The only way I will be disappointed is if I haven’t done my job, not made the right calls, not fought for something.

“If we win, it will be because we deserved it. If we don’t, it will be because Australia played better. If that happens, we’ll shake hands and move on.”