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Victorious England rugby squad heads home in `Sweet Chariot`
Sydney, Nov 25: England set off for home carrying rugby`s World Cup trophy in a plane renamed Sweet Chariot
Sydney, Nov 25: England set off for home carrying rugby's World Cup trophy in a plane renamed Sweet Chariot
The victorious English rugby team headed home from Australia on Monday (November 24) with the Webb-Ellis trophy in hand to what promises to be a rapturous reception for the World Cup winners at London's Heathrow Airport. Delirious fans cheered the team off from their hotel and from Sydney airport in a preview of what the team can expect when it returns home. Outside their Manly hotel in Sydney the biggest cheers came for match winner Jonny Wilkinson, coach Clive Woodward and giant captain Martin Johnson.
Wilkinson had just been named the International Rugby Board's (IRB) player of the year. The England flyhalf was a runaway winner of rugby's most prestigious prize as the newly crowned world champions swept the major awards at the IRB's annual presentation dinner.
England were named the team of the year while Clive Woodward won the coach of the year. On Monday (November 24) the players left Australia for the long trip back to London.
Fans at the airport said it had been a fantastic event and they were already looking forward to the next World Cup, to be hosted by France in four years time. Another fan said the party would go on for days yet.
British Airways renamed the plane that the team was travelling on "Sweet Chariot" in honour of the team and the song that England's ecstatic fans sang throughout the tournament.
The squad happily posed with the trophy on the aircraft steps before climbing on board for the long flight home and an anticipated massive welcome when the plane lands on Tuesday.
Bureau Report
The victorious English rugby team headed home from Australia on Monday (November 24) with the Webb-Ellis trophy in hand to what promises to be a rapturous reception for the World Cup winners at London's Heathrow Airport. Delirious fans cheered the team off from their hotel and from Sydney airport in a preview of what the team can expect when it returns home. Outside their Manly hotel in Sydney the biggest cheers came for match winner Jonny Wilkinson, coach Clive Woodward and giant captain Martin Johnson.
Wilkinson had just been named the International Rugby Board's (IRB) player of the year. The England flyhalf was a runaway winner of rugby's most prestigious prize as the newly crowned world champions swept the major awards at the IRB's annual presentation dinner.
England were named the team of the year while Clive Woodward won the coach of the year. On Monday (November 24) the players left Australia for the long trip back to London.
Fans at the airport said it had been a fantastic event and they were already looking forward to the next World Cup, to be hosted by France in four years time. Another fan said the party would go on for days yet.
British Airways renamed the plane that the team was travelling on "Sweet Chariot" in honour of the team and the song that England's ecstatic fans sang throughout the tournament.
The squad happily posed with the trophy on the aircraft steps before climbing on board for the long flight home and an anticipated massive welcome when the plane lands on Tuesday.
Bureau Report