Rugby brings a little English cheer

The 3-1 win by the Socceroos over England at Upton Park in a friendly soccer match this week may have served as a reminder of why rugby is becoming so big in that country.

The humiliating round ball defeat was just the latest in several to Australia in various sports - cricket and tennis among them. And the Zimbabwe issue has lengthened the odds on the English cricketers bringing some sporting cheer to their nation by winning the Cricket World Cup, which in any event would have been unlikely.

The exception to the rule of English sporting subservience to the southern nations at the moment is rugby union. After winning all three matches against the so-called Big Three in the English autumn, Martin Johnson's men can with some justification consider themselves to be top of the world at the moment.

Or at least that would be so if they advance past France in their Six Nations opener which doubles as a decider at Twickenham on Saturday. For while the English dominance over the southern hemisphere teams was complete, it is arguable that France, even though they never played particularly well in either match, were as awesome in their matches against South Africa and New Zealand.

Okay, so they didn't beat the All Blacks - the match was drawn - but how many who watched the game would disagree that they were the better side on the night?

Of course, England would not have forgotten that their planned celebrations were rudely cancelled by France's power-charged display in the corresponding match (which came a little later in the season) last year. The eventual score was not so comprehensive, but friends and family (on the wife's side) who ventured across the English Channel for the encounter tell me they have been put off travelling to support England for life after seeing their side swamped in those pulsating opening 40 minutes.

The French are eager to do it again and No8 Imanol Harinordoquay would have raised the temperatures last week when he reminded his countrymen and anyone else who read the relevant copy of just why it is they love beating the English: Basically they are arrogant so-and-so's who deserve to have their noses rubbed in it.

Put another way: We have been at war with England for many, many centuries, and just because war is not considered in vogue in this day and age does not mean we should not continue the conflict on the sports field.

There have been many extremely hot, incident-filled battles between England and France over the years, none more so than the 1991 World Cup match when French captain Daniel Dubroca was accused afterwards of spitting in referee David Bishop's face.

This year's battle, considering the buildup, promises to be every bit as tempestuous. Considering the skill levels in both teams and their standing at the moment on the world rugby firmament, it should also be a fine game of rugby.

With the Super 12 starting the following week, it is extremely tempting for me to take a break from the game before the really busy period starts, but alas, I cannot do that. I look forward to sitting in front of the television on Saturday afternoon and tuning into Supersport as much as I would if it was South Africa against Australia in the World Cup final.

It would be wrong to suggest, as has been done, that this is the last big match England play before they get to Perth to face the Boks. They go to New Zealand and Australia in mid-year and also travel to Marseilles to play a pre-World Cup game against the same French team in September.

But it is not hyperbole to suggest that this is a big step for England in their journey to the World Cup. Defeat would undeniably bring the knockers back out of the woodwork and the likes of Will Carling, who has been gushingly complimentary to Clive Woodward and his charges of late, will remind them that they cannot win the big ones, the ones that count.

And as it would be the umpteenth time that it would have happened in a Six Nations decider in the past few years, England this time might just start believing it. A psychological problem, if it is not there already, would not be far away and the inevitable reference to chokers which will appear on the top of tabloid copy on the match will encroach on their dreams.

As a South African, part of me does want England to lose, even if just to see the English media adopt a sense of perspective (although in their case perspective sometimes travels in the opposite direction at times of defeat and their team suddenly becomes the worst in the world).

But I don't expect it to come to that. Sorry Darren, I have to go with Naas on this one - even allowing for the fact that the French were the last overseas team to taste victory at Twickenham (in the 1999 World Cup semi-final against the Kiwis), I fully expect the tubes back to London on Saturday night to be celebrating victory No19.

France might well be better bets for the World Cup, but at Twickenham England are world champions.