Username
Password
Barney Burnham speaks to the players

RWC Winners
By Barney Burnham 25/11/03
April 12 2004
England Rugby World Cup 2003 players talk to Barney Burnham - Unofficial England Rugby's reporter speaks to Phil Vickery, Steve Thompson, Paul Grayson and Kyran Bracken about their reception on arriving back home and if the achievement had sunk in yet.
Interview 1: Phil Vickery
Barney Burnham: Phil, I remember speaking to you on the Lions tour, and you were telling me about how emotional it was, coming on to the pitch for the First Test at the Gabba. How did Saturday compare to that? Even better?

Phil Vickery: It was just fantastic.Playing for the Lions was very, very special and it's very difficult to compare playing in different scenarios. But running out at Stadium Australia, and seeing so many white and red shirts , and the atmosphere and everything that was attached to it was truly fantastic.It's something you'll never forget for the rest of your life, and I certainly won't want to forget it.

Barney Burnham:: Well, you're still a young man, as props go. So you could have one or two more of these.

Phil Vickery: Let's hope so, but there's a lot of rugby to be played between now and then. I'm not, to be honest, thinking too far ahead yet. I just want to enjoy the moment now, enjoy what we've achieved - and I'm just looking forward to going back, seeing some friends and family and enjoying the moment with them. And obviously, with the supporters as well - because, at the end of the day, those people are the ones that have made it so special for us. It was truly fantastic in Australia, unbelievable.

Barney Burnham:: I've been reading the Gloucester website, and I think they've got one hell of a welcome planned.

Phil Vickery: I hope so. They're bloody fantastic supporters, and they've been nothing but brilliant to me. I just want to go back and enjoy the moment with them. Certainly, walking round the stadium on Saturday after the game, seeing so many Gloucester shirts and flags - it really is fantastic."


Interview 2: Steve Thompson:
Barney Burnham: Steve, many congratulations. Has it sunk in yet?

Steve Thompson: I think it hit home a little bit more now we've seen the support and things like that. When we were over in Australia, we knew the support was massive there, but we didn't know what to expect when we came home. Obviously, people have been saying 'It's massive' and we just said 'All right'. Then we've come home and there are just thousands of people cheering, and they've been there for hours - it's just unbelievable."

Barney Burnham:: People were there yesterday afternoon.

Steve Thompson: I know. When you hear things like that, you just can't believe it. You can't thank them enough for the support they've given us.

 

Barney Burnham: I watched the Final in a rugby club in Middlesex, and you could feel the atmosphere through the television. What it must have been like for you guys coming on to the pitch to see that sea of white....

Steve Thompson: Words just can't explain it for me. It was just huge, and the amount of noise you could hear from the supporters - it was just massive for us.

 

Barney Burnham:: You're still a young man. You could go through this again a couple of times.

Steve Thompson: We'll see about that. I'm going to have a couple of days of rest, then get back into business and start training with the Saints again, hopefully."

Interview 3: Paul Grayson

Barney Burnham: Paul - a year ago, you just would not have believed it if someone had said to you that you'd be coming back with a World Cup-winning team to be greeted by thousands of people at Heathrow, would you?

Paul Grayson: No, I might have believed that England would be doing that, but I wouldn't have thought that I'd have been involved. But it's been a fantastic twelve months, and to be part of that, and to be part of all this now that we've got back - it's an amazing feeling.


Barney Burnham: Were you ready for the sort of reception you got? Did it come as a surprise to people, just how many people were there? Some people had been there since yesterday afternoon.

Paul Grayson: Amazing. We've been really isolated, on the wrong side of the world, really. We had about 80,000 of our own fans out there, which was incredible- they made a hell of a lot of noise! But coming back to this, and seeing how big it is - front page, back page, and all pages in between.


Barney Burnham: How long before you're back in action for Northampton?

Paul Grayson: I'll wait and see. I'll wait to be told, but I wouldn't think it'd be too long."

Interview 4 - Kyran Bracken:
Barney Burnham: :Kyran - have you ever had a better birthday?

Kyran Bracken: Oh, it was a fantastic birthday. Winning the World Cup was a real dream, as a child. Then to be actually there, and in the final, was just fantastic in itself. But to win it, especially in the way we did - in the last couple of seconds - was fantastic. And the celebrations, as you can hear from my voice, have been going on since the winning of the cup. We've really enjoyed it . Now we're really happy to be home, receiving the accolades that we are receiving - it's just fantastic.


Barney Burnham: Were you prepared for the sort of reception you got at Heathrow this morning? There were people there yesterday afternoon.

Kyran Bracken: : To be honest with you, not at all. It was something very special, something we'll always remember. To get that sort of reception was greatly appreciated by everyone, and we didn't expect it. We just thought that we're the second sport in the country, and that not too many people would know what was going o, or know all about our successes - but apparently, it's been rugby mania while we've been away. And that's fantastic. Hopefully, it'll help the sport in future.


Barney Burnham: And there's another happy event coming up for you, before too long.

Kyran Bracken: That's right. My wife's pregnant. So I've got four weeks of freedom until the baby comes along, and I'm really looking forward to that. That'll be a special occasion for me, as well.


Barney Burnham:: And if it's a boy - William Webb Ellis Bracken?

Kyran Bracken: : (laughing) I don't know. I'm not sure. I haven't thought about names. That's quite a good idea, but I'm not sure the wife would be too happy about it. She doesn't want everything revolving around rugby."

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with: