By Chris Chaplin
March 31 2003

Expectations were high of the England team as they started against Ireland and they were not frustrated as Martin Johnson's men claimed the Grand Slam. But what about the individuals involved in this historic victory.

Jason Leonard should have been wearing a mortarboard and gown such was the lesson he gave his opposite number in the black art of scrummaging. When he’d got that under control he turned up running a nice line before making a backs’ pass to put Luger in for the final try. 8/10.

Steve Thompson was ever present in the loose and while he’s doubtless playing to orders his constant presence did slow down some otherwise promising attacks. In the scrum he did well in spite of losing one against the head in the dying minutes of the game but his Achilles heel of being unable to be consistently accurate with his throwing in raised it’s head after a faultless performance the week before. 6/10

Graham Rowntree had another solid game on his side of the scrum and made his opponent look very ordinary indeed. He was his usual abrasive self in defence and broken play and when Trevor Woodman came on as a permanent replacement in the second half the change was seamless. How fortunate we are to have two such fine players in this position. 8/10

Martin Johnson was simply immense. I don’t think I’ve seen him play better in an England shirt. Faultless in the line-out. Savage in his defence of the England battlements. In the loose he caused all sorts of problems to a stunned Irish side. I thought his Captaincy was one of the finest displays I’ve seen. From keeping his own and his team’s concentration during the pre-match nonsense to his clinical and ruthless leadership on the field he was simply superb. 9/10

Ben Kay at last looked his old self. Coped well with immense pressure from the Irish in the line-out which was not aided be some inaccurate throwing. Ever present in loose play the Tiger was, well, Tigerish throughout. 8/10

Neil Back gave the Irish a thoroughly miserable afternoon. Once gain he was incredible in defence and the eternal link man in the loose. If on this performance there are better open-sides around at present I’d like to see them. Another great display of his skills from the “past it” man from Leicester. I don’t know! First he was too small and now he’s too old. Can any player have been more maligned after having produced so much for his country? 8/10

Richard Hill was his usual self. He terrified the opposition with his tackling and continued with his role as a target man in the line-out. At times I was convinced there were three Richard Hills out there, such was his ability to pop up all over the park. 8/10

Lawrence Dallaglio gave his answer to those who ask why he gets selected. Rarely have I seen our Lal. play better. He took the ball up magnificently. Together with his back-row colleagues he snuffed out any attacks mounted by the thunderstruck Irishmen and his support play was, like that of his colleagues, simply superb and for which he was rewarded with a well taken try. 9/10

Matt Dawson found his “sensible head” again and put in very fine performance. True he was behind a dominant scrum however there were still ample opportunities for error but came there few from our pal the “referee’s assistant“. He didn’t over use the quick penalty tap (in fact I’m not even sure he used it at all, but he surely must have?!) . He was unselfish throughout and his approach play was at times sublime. If there was any fault is was that again a percentage of his passing from the set piece was a bit high, but that‘s being picky. 8/10

Jonny Wilkinson is not fully fit of that I am more than ever sure. His opportunism in following orders to take the points when they were available was out of the very top drawer. His defence was an object lesson in bravery and even when his entreaties to be replaced were initially ignored by the England management he soldiered on, literally putting his body on the line. It was not really the type of game where his attacking flair was going to be seen at it’s best anyway and I just hope that he’s not done Moody type damage to that shoulder of his by playing on when even he thought he needed to come off. 8/10

Mike Tindall must have dispelled many of the doubts that hung over his all round game with this fine and typically robust display. He’s developing well of that there’s no doubt and he picked a lovely line to score his well deserved try. It’ll be hard to dislodge him from the centre now. 7/10

Will Greenwood had a game of two halves, to employ that well worn sporting cliche. In the first half he was in a strange mood and struggled to get into the game. I thought he inaccurately kicked away far too much ball and seemed reluctant to back himself against O’Driscoll. However in the second half the old Will was back and took two good tries. The first aided by the irresistible force of Johnno behind him and the second courtesy of a telegraphed pass from Geordan Murphy and which for some reason he felt the need to showboat with a touchdown as far out to the right as he could manage. 7/10

Ben Cohen didn’t really get much ball in this forward dominated game and with his back three colleagues was mostly occupied with defensive and support duties. Hard for this World Class player to strut his stuff in such circumstances but he did what was needed. 6/10

Jason Robinson saw the most ball of the back three and his speed of thought and deed saw him turning up a bit like a miniature back-row forward. Ever present at the breakdown, then back again supporting the attack. Billy the Whizz certainly lived up to his name as he buzzed around all afternoon looking for work like a frustrated hornet. 7/10

Josh Lewsey also had to make do with a bit part in this juggernaut of a performance by the English pack. Having said that he defended well, covering his beat with all the enthusiasm of a rookie Policeman on his first tour of duty and also made progress forward, largely in a supporting role when the rare opportunities to do so arose. So again hard for the new boy to continue his shining start in this sort of game but he with Cohen and Robinson are a very high class combination and the other teams to face England in the RWC will have taken note. 6/10

Replacements. Woodman looked good when he came on having been declared fit after another attempt by the England coaching staff earlier in the week to injure him. Luger finished his try well and in a game where the backs didn’t get that much ball that’s about all you can ask of a winger. Bracken held up his end well when Dawson made a few trips to the medical room to be stitched up and Grayson looked like he’d never been away when he eventually replaced Wilko.

Team Performance
This was the real deal at last. The right selection. A sensible and pragmatic game plan of concentrating on forward power, faultlessly executed under the direction of the best England Captain of a generation. The England pack simply destroyed the Irish eight and had Thompson’s throwing been as good as it was against Scotland it would have been a near to perfect performance. The half backs followed the game-plan to the letter and were both sensible and disciplined in the way they played. As the shirt numbers got higher the amount of ball available got lower so while the back division has not attracted high marks that’s really a reflection of the game-plan. This was good enough and I actually feel that there is more to come from this team. Vickery will be expected to return, but otherwise Woodward need tinker no more to find the nucleus of his RWC team. A real example of the whole being greater than the sum of it’s parts and that’s what will win the RWC. 9/10

Man of The Match. I don’t really want to pick one as it was such a wonderful team effort. This week it’s between Johnno and Dallaglio and as it’s my last review of the season I hope you’ll forgive me for giving it to Martin Johnson for a World Class performance both as a lock and even more importantly as a Captain.