Thousands of cheering fans turned out to welcome back England’s World Cup-winning rugby team when they flew into London on Tuesday with plans under way to honour the team with a victory parade through the streets of central London.
England coach Clive Woodward issued ”a big thank you” to all the supporters who turned up at Heathrow airport to greet flight BA16, which touched down at 4.35am.
Their plane had been renamed Sweet Chariot in honour of England’s unofficial anthem, with a special seat being reserved for the Webb Ellis Trophy itself.
Strains of that chant boomed out as adults and children took another opportunity to celebrate Saturday’s amazing success over defending world champions Australia.
”I’m certainly proud to be English and very glad to be home,” Woodward told Sky Sports News as the party reached a Bagshot hotel ahead of a scheduled press conference.
”I’d just like to say a big thank you to all those people who got up so early. I’ve never seen anything like it, it was just fantastic.”
Scrum-half Matt Dawson, whose pass set up Jonny Wilkinson’s match-winning drop goal, added: ”Nobody could really explain what it felt like to be a world champion but coming back this morning and seeing that at the airport, it was absolutely mindblowing.
”There were thousands of people there lining the streets, cars parked in the middle of the road, in the middle of the roundabout down on the bypass, on the motorway, it was just surreal. It was fantastic, absolutely awesome.”
Woodward was first to emerge from the plane, followed by captain Martin Johnson clutching the Webb Ellis Trophy and Wilkinson.
All three waved to the face-painted fans, many of whom were draped in the flag of St George.
The biggest roar of all came when England passed through passport control and entered the arrivals hall.
Again it was Woodward who led the party, with this time flanker Neil Back holding aloft the trophy as cheers and screaming broke out amid scenes reminiscent of the welcome given The Beatles when they returned home from the United States in the 1960s.
Cries of ”champions, champions” greeted each new player to emerge.
Dawson kissed one lucky female fan while others shook hands with the hordes of England supporters.
Wilkinson was hustled through a scrum of photographers by security personnel as cries of ”Jonny, Jonny” bounced around.
Wilkinson waved to more flag-bearing fans as he boarded the team bus, for once revelling in the attention despite his natural shyness.
England skipper Johnson added on GMTV: ”It was just incredible. Once we got on the bus, we had to wait there for half an hour surrounded fans. It was fantastic. I never expected anything like it at all.
”It’s a strange feeling, to do it out there and then come back to this. It’s just all sinking in.”
England became the first northern hemisphere side to win the Rugby World Cup after Wilkinson dropped the winning goal 25 seconds from the end of extra-time for a 20-17 victory in Sydney on Saturday.
Plans are under way to honour the team with a victory parade through the streets of central London and an official reception by Prime Minister Tony Blair at Downing Street is among the options being considered.
Saturday’s win was the country’s greatest sporting victory since England’s footballers won the Soccer World Cup in 1966. — Sapa-AFP