No noise. No nonsense. Just England.
Hosted by Australia
England: Winners
How England performed
England won the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia with a perfect record of seven wins from seven matches, under head coach Clive Woodward and captain Martin Johnson. The pool stage began at the Subiaco Oval in Perth with an 84–6 win over Georgia and a 25–6 victory over South Africa. England then beat Samoa 35–22 in Melbourne and Uruguay 111–13 in Brisbane.
The knockout rounds were tighter. England beat Wales 28–17 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, then France 24–7 in the semi-final at Stadium Australia in Sydney. The final, at the same venue on 22 November, brought a 20–17 win over the hosts, Australia, to make England world champions. They scored 327 points and conceded 88 across the tournament, a marked improvement on 1999, when their campaign had ended in the quarter-finals.
England fixtures
Georgia
6–84
England
England won
England tries: Mike Tindall 14', Matt Dawson 19', Steve Thompson 23', Neil Back 26', Lawrence Dallaglio 46', Will Greenwood 50', Mark Regan 54', Ben Cohen 60', Ben Cohen 64', Will Greenwood 72', Jason Robinson 76', Dan Luger 79'
Georgia tries: None
South Africa
6–25
England
England won
England tries: Will Greenwood 63'
South Africa tries: None
Samoa
22–35
England
England won
England tries: Neil Back 25', Penalty try 52', Iain Balshaw 70', Phil Vickery 74'
Samoa tries: Semo Sititi 6'
Uruguay
13–111
England
England won
England tries: Lewis Moody 3', Josh Lewsey 17', Iain Balshaw 19', Iain Balshaw 21', Mike Catt 34', Andy Gomarsall 39', Josh Lewsey 41', Dan Luger 43', Stuart Abbott 49', Josh Lewsey 52', Jason Robinson 54', Josh Lewsey 56', Andy Gomarsall 59', Will Greenwood 68', Jason Robinson 70', Mike Catt 73', Josh Lewsey 76'
Uruguay tries: Pablo Lemoine 47'
Wales
17–28
England
England won
England tries: Will Greenwood 44'
Wales tries: Stephen Jones 30', Colin Charvis 35', Martyn Williams 71'
France
7–24
England
England won
England tries: None
France tries: Serge Betsen 10'
Australia
17–20
England
England won
England tries: Jason Robinson 38'
Australia tries: Lote Tuqiri 6'
England statistics
Full England squad
| Player | Pos | Club | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Regan | Hooker | Leeds Tykes | 1 |
| Steve Thompson | Hooker | Northampton Saints | 1 |
| Dorian West | Hooker | Leicester Tigers | – |
| Jason Leonard | Prop | Harlequins | – |
| Phil Vickery | Prop | Gloucester | 1 |
| Julian White | Prop | Leicester Tigers | – |
| Trevor Woodman | Prop | Gloucester | – |
| Martin Johnson C | Lock | Leicester Tigers | – |
| Ben Kay | Lock | Leicester Tigers | – |
| Danny Grewcock | Lock | Bath | – |
| Simon Shaw | Lock | London Wasps | – |
| Neil Back | Flanker | Leicester Tigers | 2 |
| Richard Hill | Flanker | Saracens | – |
| Lewis Moody | Flanker | Leicester Tigers | 1 |
| Joe Worsley | Flanker | London Wasps | – |
| Lawrence Dallaglio | Number 8 | London Wasps | 1 |
| Martin Corry | Number 8 | Leicester Tigers | – |
| Kyran Bracken | Scrum-half | Saracens | – |
| Matt Dawson | Scrum-half | Northampton Saints | 1 |
| Andy Gomarsall | Scrum-half | Gloucester | 2 |
| Paul Grayson | Fly-half | Northampton Saints | – |
| Jonny Wilkinson | Fly-half | Newcastle Falcons | – |
| Stuart Abbott | Centre | London Wasps | 1 |
| Will Greenwood | Centre | Harlequins | 5 |
| Mike Catt | Centre | Bath | 2 |
| Mike Tindall | Centre | Bath | 1 |
| Ben Cohen | Wing | Northampton Saints | 2 |
| Dan Luger | Wing | Perpignan | 2 |
| Jason Robinson | Wing | Sale Sharks | 4 |
| Josh Lewsey | Fullback | London Wasps | 5 |
| Iain Balshaw | Fullback | Bath | 3 |
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