Will CARLING

Love him or hate him, there is no doubt that Will Carling is one of the most significant figures in the history of English rugby along with the likes of Wavell Wakefield, Bill Beaumont and Clive Woodward. Will captained England on a record 59 occasions between 1988 and 1996, winning 75% of his matches in charge and leading England to three Grand Slams and a World Cup final. Working in tandem with manager Geoff Cooke, he was responsible for lifting England out of the doldrums in the late 1980s and making the national side a powerful force in world rugby. Will was also highly significant in that he helped raise the profile of rugby in the UK due to his clean cut image and media friendly persona. Indeed, by the time Will retired in 1997, rugby had progressed from its traditional club image of baths, bandages and beer to a sport watched by trendy PR girls and discussed in earnest at the best London restaurants. This aside, it is sometimes overlooked that Carling was also a world class centre who could finish, tackle and the run the ball with equal skill. Originally, it was on the basis of pure ability that Will was first selected against France in 1988 due to the unavailability of John Buckton and Simon Halliday. England performed with great credit in that match and were unlucky to lose 10-9, though Carling was partially responsible for the defeat when his mistimed pass went astray in the first half and a scoring chance was missed.

England also lost their next match to Wales, but eventually finished third in the Championship after victories against Scotland and Ireland. Will then missed the first test of the mini series against Australia due to sitting his finals at Durham University, but lined up in the second in Sydney. After running the Aussies close in the first match at Ballymore, England succumbed to a record 28-8 defeat. Carling was highly critical of the captaincy style of John Orwin, and secretly believed that if given the chance he could do better. Sure enough, Geoff Cooke named the 22 year old as captain later in the year, making him England's youngest ever skipper. His first match in charge was pure Boy's Own stuff, a rousing 28-19 victory against Australia at Twickenham that saw England score four tries. It was appropriate that Will should cap that magnificent November afternoon by setting up the fourth himself for his great friend and clubmate Simon Halliday. Excited by the possibilities that rugby and life could offer, Carling immediately bought himself out of the army and began a personal mission to try and make England the best side in the world. (Jon Collins)

The England team of 1991 was an entirely different beast to the one that had played with such flair the season before. Indeed, England's gameplan was now firmly based on forward domination with possession and territory the main focus. England's first match was against Wales in Cardiff, where they had not won since 1963. In a statement of intent, the players walked the distance from their hotel to the Arms Park with hardly a word said. The new gameplan worked exceptionally well with Simon Hodgkinson's seven penalties and a try by Mike Teague putting paid to the Welsh. Unfortunately, England's great triumph was tarnished slightly by the team's refusal to give interviews after the match, an incident that made Will several enemies within the RFU. After victory over Scotland, England's sternest test came against Ireland at Lansdowne Road. Trailing with just ten minutes to go, they scored two tries through Mike Teague and Rory Underwood to win 16-7. Talking with Nigel Starmer Smith after the game, Will put England's triumph purely down to the fact that his side did not panic under the pressure and remained confident that they would eventually prevail. The Grand Slam itself was sealed with a 21-19 victory over France at Twickenham, and Will was carried from the field in scenes reminiscent of England's triumph at Murrayfield in 1980.

The World Cup later in the year saw rugby's profile move to a higher level and England's progress through the tournament was even followed by a fly on the wall camera team, something that would become commonplace in years to come. After a narrow loss to New Zealand in the opening game, England defeated Italy and the USA to progress to a quarter-final meeting with France. A thoroughly vicious encounter was eventually won by England 19-10 when Will scored after dispossessing Serge Blanco. Old rivals Scotland were then defeated in the last four 9-6, to set up a clash with Australia in the final (see photo above photo G. Herringshaw ©). In the lead up to the game the media fanned the flames of the rivalry with such headlines as "WILL POWER!" and "DO THE DIRTY DIGGERS DOWN!" whilst Australia's unofficial spokesman David Campese responded with typically critical remarks about England's style of play. Strangely abandoning their tried and trusted gameplan, England attempted to win the match by playing expansive rugby, but the Australian defence was too tough and the Wallabies took the trophy 12-6 thanks to a pushover try by prop Tony Daly. Carling might have failed in his "mission impossible" to turn England from also rans to World Champions in just three years, but it had been an extremely impressive attempt all the same. (Jon Collins)