| The 1993 season saw not only the end of England's dominance, but also that of Rob Andrew in the fly-half position, albeit temporarily. After England lost to Wales in Cardiff, Andrew was dropped in favour of the mercurial Stuart Barnes, a stand-off who had faced Rob in their university days and had actually played for England before him. Barnes justified his selection with a superb performance against Scotland at Twickenham, but failed against Ireland, and it was Andrew who was given the nod by the British Lions management in New Zealand. A difficult tour ended in a 2-1 series defeat, but Rob's display in the second test is rated as one of the finest ever by a Lions fly-half. Later in the year Andrew turned in another superb show against New Zealand at Twickenham, this time in the colours of England. His accurate touch kicking meant that England were in control for much of the game and another drop goal put the cap on a famous 15-9 victory. The following year saw Andrew enter a new phase in his career when he became first choice goalkicker for his country. Rob had previously been considered too unreliable for this role, but under the tutelage of kicking guru Dave Alred, he had successfully remodelled his technique so that it was more reliable under pressure. He was handed the job following Jon Callard's failure against Ireland, and immediately showed what he could do by scoring all England's points in an 18-14 win over France in Paris. England then annihilated Wales at Twickenham, but narrowly failed to win the title on points difference. Later in the year the team toured South Africa and confounded the critics by winning the first test in Pretoria 32-15 having gone up by 20 points in the first 15 minutes. Rob proved beyond doubt his world class status by scoring 27 points, scoring a 'full house' of a try, a drop goal, two conversions and five penalties. The second test was lost, but Rob finished the tour with 58 points, another record. Later in the year he equalled Didier Camberbero's world record with 30 points against Canada, and racked up 24 more against Romania. He might not have had any silverware to show for it, but '94 had undoubtedly been the best year of Rob's career to date. (Jon Collins) |
.
Rob Andrew is here pictured playing for England for the last time, in the game at Twickenham against Wales on 15th March 1997.
Photograph by George Herringshaw. ©
| After two relatively indifferent seasons, England returned to top form in 1995 and won their third Grand Slam in four years. It all came down to the final game against Scotland at Twickenham, where Rob sank seven penalties and a drop goal for a 24-12 victory. The next day, the Sunday Telegraph featured a picture of Rob with the headline "The World At His Feet", in anticipation of the forthcoming championships in South Africa. England laboured in the early stages of the Cup, but Rob bagged 24 points against Argentina and 17 against Italy to keep the ship afloat. Perhaps the most famous moment of his career occurred in the quarter-finals against Australia when his last minute drop goal sealed a 25-22 victory. After a try to each side by Tony Underwood and Damien Smith respectively, the game had turned into a kicking contest between Rob and Michael Lynagh. With the scores locked at 22-22 and extra time looming, the ball broke from a scrum deep in Aussie territory setting up Rob for his shot at goal. Australian coach Bob Dwyer did not even see the successful kick, for he was already making his way down to the touchline to issue fresh instructions to his men. Rob had scored 20 of his team's points in what was England's first victory against Australia in the southern hemisphere. Unfortunately, England's celebrations were short lived and they were blasted out of the tournament by New Zealand in the semi-finals. All that remained was the 3/4th play-off against France which ended in a 19-9 defeat, with Rob scoring all of England's points. An exhausted England played poorly against a side who they had not lost to for seven years and scrum-half Dewi Morris later slammed Rob's supposedly negative play, forgetting that the side wouldn't have even been in that match without him. The France game was Rob's 70th and one assumed at the time, his last. However, two years later he was on the bench against Wales and came on as a replacement for one last cap (see picture above). Though his days in the big time were over, Andrew continued to exert a powerful influence in English rugby. Indeed, in 1997 Sir John Hall signed Rob up as supremo at a revived Newcastle, and he guided them to the Premiership title in 1998, leading by example with six tries. Whilst at Newcastle he also acted as mentor to Jonny Wilkinson, who went on to break Rob's England points scoring record in 2003. (Jon Collins) |