By Kath 15/10/03
October 15 2003

It is good to hear that the lads are aware of the crowd singing, even though the concentration levels are intense and Johnno drinking from a ram's horn - whatever next!

For immediate release: 15 October 2003
Issued on behalf of Zurich

Josh Lewsey on www.zurichpremiership.com and in Metro

A sting in the tale.

Although scoring 84 points against a team may seem like a walk in the
park, I can assure you every England player left the field on Sunday with
nothing but total respect for the Georgia team.

In the same way as our goal was to keep working and be ruthless for the
whole game, theirs must have been to work relentlessly to the final whistle.

Statistician will tell you they made over 200 tackles and I can’t remember
them missing any.  We played some great rugby but we were disjointed at
times – and, of course, the big test comes against South Africa on Saturday.
Personally, I was disappointed not to get on the scoresheet but sometimes
things just don’t go your way – and it wasn’t through lack of effort.

However, more significantly and perhaps not as obvious to armchair
viewers, was the six-hour downpour before the game.

Typical really, that after a summer of hot-weather training, we come
halfway around the world and the pre-match warm-up is more akin to a bleak
scene from an LS Lowry painting than this exotic location off the Indian Ocean.

The atmosphere generated at matches has been fantastic and the Barmy Army
made themselves heard on Sunday.  People sometimes think players are
oblivious to that.  But we are still human and the noise and support give us
a tremendous boost.  It was also a welcome sight – and perhaps the meaning
of the tournament – that we exchanged shirts with our opposite numbers at
the post-match function.  And Johnno, our skipper, was asked to go up for a
traditional Georgian toast.  This involved interlocking arms and drinking
from a ram’s horn.  Although it was only lemonade that passed his lips, for
me it symbolised that which is special in sport and, in particular, rugby.
You can spend 80 minutes bashing lumps out of each other and then share in a
mutual friendship formed out of respect.

There is, of course, a Zurich Premiership season going on at home.  It was
with great delight I heard our Wasps boys had taken the much-needed and
prized scalp of Sale.

Then I found out my good friend Fraser Waters had bagged a hat-trick.  Yet
it seems last year’s form has gone out the window as previous strugglers
Bath and Harlequins now lead the pack.  Will Greenwood keeps jibing us about
Quins’ elevated position, which gets the deserved retort about altitude
sickness.

However, it was a great start to a productive weekend.  Let’s hope after
facing South Africa – which many feel will be the most intense match of
their lives – breakfast on Sunday can be enjoyed with a smile.

 ENDS