Jason Robinson is best remembered for scoring in England’s victory over Australia in the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup final in Sydney but he also has fond memories of his crucial try against the Kangaroos at Wembley eight years earlier.
His try in the opening match of the 1995 Rugby League World Cup helped England to a shock 20-16 win over Australia in front of a 41,271 crowd at the national stadium and sparked huge interest in the rest of the tournament.
“It almost opened it up,” recalled Robinson. “It certainly made a difference, with people thinking, ‘hang on a minute, there’s a chance’.”
England, coached by Phil Larder, went on to beat Fiji and South Africa to top their group and, after overcoming Wales in the semi-finals, went on to meet Australia again at Wembley in the final, this time in front of 66,540 fans, but suffered a 16-8 loss.
Robinson added: “We went on to play Wales which was a very physical game and we really thought we could beat Australia again.
“We didn’t give them an easy ride but I don’t know whether that first game had taken it out of us or prodded them to be much better in the final.
“To get to a World Cup final at the first attempt was massive for me.”
Robinson almost did not play in the World Cup after being caught up in the Super League war that ripped the game apart Down Under.
In 1995 the Leeds-born Wigan winger was offered a four-year deal worth a reported £1.25million by the Australian Rugby League (ARL) to play in the country from the end of the 1997 season.
Robinson’s Wigan team-mate Gary Connolly was another high-profile player who was prized away from Australian clutches to face a Kangaroos team that was deprived of players who stayed loyal to the ARL.
“I think they must have done some deal to allow players to play for England and I’m so glad because it was my first Rugby League World Cup and it’s the biggest tournament you’ll ever play in,” Robinson said.
“You want to play the best teams, you want to play on the big stage and you want to test yourself. It was a home World Cup.
“I remember a couple of things, one was playing South Africa, I don’t know for how long they had a team so that was different because you get used to playing the same teams.
“What really was a big thing was when we beat Australia in our group game. That was always going to be the sticking point in terms of progression. It was such a massive lift for us as a team.
“To progress all the way to the final and come up against Australia again. We thought, ‘we’ve beaten them once, we can beat them again’.
“Obviously it wasn’t meant to be but I have some great memories of some unbelievable players like Shaun Edwards, Lee Jackson, Martin Offiah, some real key names in there that on their day.”
