England captain Martin Johnson paid tribute to his mercurial fly half Jonny Wilkinson after the sharpshooter booted his side home in the Rugby World Cup final last night at Sydney’s Telstra Stadium.
With the scores locked at 17-17 the cool-as-ice Wilkinson sent his right-footed drop goal sailing between the posts with 30 seconds of extra time remaining.
"We knew our only chance was to force a line out and go from there. After Jonny [Wilkinson] kicked the drop goal we knew we'd won it. It was pretty unbelievable," Johnson recalled at the post match press conference.
"Wilko [Wilkinson] at the end ... brilliant. I can't say enough about it.
"Wilko was there and right at the death ... you'd [rather] have no one else, would you?"
Team effort
After a gruelling campaign, four years in the making, Johnson acknowledged it was a team effort that got his side over the line.
"It was a huge effort from the entire squad of players, coach and physios. And thanks to the fans, they were brilliant," Johnson said.
A humble Johnson also gave credit to defending champions Australia.
"Credit to Australia, it's been a great World Cup, they've had an absolutely brilliant Tournament, they've got here to the final themselves and played great," Johnson said.
"It couldn't have been any closer and I'm just happy to be on the right side."
Johnson is the first captain of England to hold the Webb Ellis Cup aloft, at the same time England is the first nation from the Northern hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup.
"I'm just happy for the players you know, they put so much into it, they put their heart and soul into it and the fans who have come out here are just fantastic," Johnson said.
Wilkinson: Captain in waiting
Johnson said recent criticism labelling his star No.10, who was tonight named IRB International Player of the Year in association with Heineken, as “just a kicker” is unwarranted.
The towering lock adding his all round game and coolness under pressure marks him as a future England captain.
"The amount of time and effort he puts into his game is unbelievable. He's a very special player and a very special person."