On my knees - Steve Jones

?I distrust summaries, any kind of gliding through time, any too great a claim that one is in control of what one recounts . . . To re-collect is to re-enter and be riven . . . I admire the authority of being on one?s knees in front of the event? ? Harold Brodkey;In November 2003, England had their most wondrous day of sporting glory since the 1966 football World Cup when, inspired by the incredible Jonny Wilkinson, they won the Rugby World Cup, silencing anti-Pom Australia with a stupendous victory in the final in Sydney in one of the most hair-raising sporting contests ever staged.;This was more than a rugby victory. It turned the tide against Australian sporting dominance, put the Northern Hemisphere back in charge of the sport, perhaps even lit a beacon for the revival of all England's national sporting teams.;It was a triumph earned after years of cunning planning, of relentless sweat and dedication. It was won in the teeth of Down Under jeering. It elevated people like Wilkinson, Clive Woodward and the inspirational captain, Martin Johnson, into sporting legend.;Stephen Jones followed the whole process through to the end of England?s spectacular run. Long-regarded as one of the sports leading authorities, Jones reached a 20-year landmark as a Sunday Times writer and his 50th birthday during the tournament, and wondered if his own fascination for the sport and for life as a reporter would survive the long and cataclysmic sporting experience; whether he would ever get used to having needles stuck into his eyes, and whether there was a sporting tomorrow for a tired hack after covering the greatest match he was ever likely to see.;This is the story of Jonny, Johnno and England?s road to stardom ? a highly personal and (after the needles) sidelong view of the greatest game.