Now that the Rugby World Cup is finished for another 4 years (and we can all start thinking about the next one), I am proud to welcome home the amazing England team who went from rank outsiders to finalists who proved EVERYONE wrong. An amazing feat and one to be very proud of. They started off incredibly badly, but what do you expect when your own country is slagging you off in every newspaper, saying how useless you are and that you have no hope. They were obviously defeated from the start. But, from somewhere, maybe the captain, maybe the manager, maybe from the team cameraderie that developed again while training for the tournement, wherever it came from they grew back their fighting spirit and produced some of the best games of the tournament. If only sports personalities were paid in balance to their effort, these guys would be the millionaires and the footballers would be bumming fags of strangers!Here are my favourites from the England team, but those I have missed out are still thought highly of. Well done England, you did us proud:
Starting with, often missing, captain Phil Vickery who in my opinion shouldn't have been captain. Someone else should've been chosen who could have inspired the team at an earlier stage and throughout, and someone who was on the pitch more too. All that said, appart from a couple of mistakes he played well.
Lewis Moody also played well throughout;
Mark Cueto should have played more, with his experience and character, he should have been on the pitch more;
Matthew Tait, showed his inexperience at times, making some aweful mistakes, but these were more than balanced out by moments of brilliance and he earned his place on the team. He will certainly be a face to watch in the coming years;
Mike Catt is a long-standing team member and deserves his place on the squad, but like Matthew Tait he made some mistakes which were balanced out, mainly by his kicking;
Olly Barkley, wasn't seen as much as he could have been;
Of course I couldn't mention the team without mentioning Jonny Wilkinson, one of my Top Ten Men. He is so often the focus of the media, because he gets most of the points and so the pressure is always on him. But, no matter what the pressure, the score or the situation he always plays superbly, not just with the kicking, he even get in with the rough-and-tumble of the play. He is a superb sportsman and worthy of the captaincy, though to put that extra pressure on him would be unfair;
Joe Worsley;
The amazing Josh Lewsey who played an integral part in our triumphs this time around and also the last time. We really missed him in the final, his presence, speed and quick thinking could have made all the difference. Hope the leg gets better soon;
Paul Sackey, who I'd never heard of before this tournament, but who made a great impression on me. He has great speed, rivalling Jason Robinson, but with more power behind him to punch through defences. With the tries he scored and the effort he put in he more than deserved his place in the team; 
Daniel Hipkiss; 
Jason Robinson, who I believe should have been the captain for the whole tournament, is amazing, a legend rivalling Jonny. His speed is amazing, linked in with his, relatively, small size he gets through spaces many other players couldn't and his personality shines through when he plays. Jason Robinson will be sorely missed if he does in fact retiure from international rugby, which is almost certain to happen; 
Andrew Sheridan;
Andy Gomersall was another lynch-pin that kept the team together in times of stress, with his dicission making coming out of the scrums being integral to our victories at many point in the last few matches. And, like Jason Robinson, he always seems to enjoy the match, his heart is really in there when he is playing. You could tell when he was gearing up the team on several occassions. He would have been my second choice for captain behind Robinson;
Martin Corry;
Horny Ben Kay;
My hero, Lawrence Dallaglio, who was a real star. You could feel the excitement rise when he came onto the pitch each time, normally late in the second half unfortunately, prompting the rising of spirits and the storming on to win in many matches. Lawrence should never have been taken out of the team or removed from the captaincy, but as he had been he obviously couldn't be returned to that rank. That being said, he provided a real morale booster for the team and the supporters, being a recognisable hero from the previous World Cup and such an awe-inspiring powerhouse too, we needed his presence;
Simon Shaw; 
Perry Freshwater;
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