KEY POINTS:
England were so easy to sneer at.
They arrived in New Zealand in the winter of 2003 to headlines all variant on the Dad's Army theme.
Oh how we laughed.
Then, on a foul night in Wellington, England beat the All Blacks 15-13 despite playing at one point with 13 men on the field.
That was a blow to the country's rugby ego, for sure, but the warning wasn't heeded, not even when England travelled on to Australia and gave the Wallabies a thumping.
The men in white were a good side, yes, but come springtime in Australia, the hard grounds, warm weather, and constant grind of tournament play would sort out the ageing warriors.
All the while Clive Woodward, he was sans Sir back then, kept smiling, telling whoever was interested the tournament would not be won with the sort of razzle-dazzle displayed by the All Blacks in putting 50 points on Australia and South Africa away during the Tri Nations, but by driving forward play and great goalkicking.
Pool play and the quarterfinals gave further ammunition to those who thought England were on the wane at the worst possible time. They were given an almighty scare by Samoa - in a game made famous for referee Steve Walsh's altercation with England trainer Dave Reddin - and were nearly left for dead after a two-try opening burst by Wales in the knockouts.
But they were back to their familiar, relentless best against France in the semifinal.
On a greasy night tailormade for Jonny Wilkinson's raking kicks, France, equal favourites going into the game, never got a look-in despite taking an early 7-3 lead and not conceding a try.
Wilkinson's boot - three drop goals and five penalties - simply mowed the hapless French down.
But it was in the week leading up to the final that Clive of Woodward came into his own.
Based out in sun-kissed Manly, a radiant Woodward was showing no signs of pressure. If anything he was damn-near horizontal.
Australian fans parked up outside the hotel one night and chanted "boring, boring" while the players and coaches tried to sleep.
"I was in bed with my wife at the time," Woodward joked with the press, "and she didn't think I was boring at all." Or words to that effect.
On the prospect of meeting Australia, who most predicted to lose to New Zealand, Woodward stated he knew from the start it would be an England-Australia final.
During the final, while thirtysomethings Lawrence Dallaglio, Martin Johnson, Neil Back, Richard Hill, Matt Dawson and Will Greenwood (and later Mike Catt and Jason Leonard), Woodward was a study in cool. In the coaches' box he never betrayed emotion until referee Andre Watson gave Australia a get-out-of-jail penalty as normal time expired.
The Woodward that night was not the one who arrived in New Zealand with the Lions two years later.
By then the kind assessment was that he had a bloated ego that required pricking.
In 2003 it was the bubble of supremacy in which Southern Hemisphere rugby believed it existed was what burst.
