Elsom: this one is about revenge

Rupert Guinness in Montpellier | September 20, 2007

THE Wallabies veterans of the 2003 World Cup final are still "torn up" and "hurt" by the loss to England in Sydney.

That is the revelation of Wallabies blindside breakaway Rocky Elsom, who was not one of the 12 members of this year's Wallabies squad brought to their knees in 2003 by a Jonny Wilkinson drop goal.

Elsom said the wounds were so deep the Wallabies were praying that England qualified for a quarter-final rematch in Marseilles - so they could hand them a thrashing.

"A lot of the guys are still very torn up about the way the tournament ended [in 2003]. They [England] had a great side then, it was a champion side. But it [the loss] still burns a lot in the players," Elsom said.

The Wallabies No.6 also revealed that openside breakaway Phil Waugh was one of those veterans most scarred by the 2003 final, which England won 20-17 in extra-time. Also in the hunt for revenge are Stirling Mortlock, George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, Lote Tuqiri, Chris Latham, George Smith, David Lyons, Al Baxter, Matt Dunning, Nathan Sharpe and Dan Vickerman.

"'Waughy' is a big one. If you watch clips of that game you can see [it] … how stuffed they were and how much it gutted them. [Then] watching them [England] ham it up there on the stage. It still probably hurts a few blokes," Elsom said.

He said that while that 2003 defeat was not spoken about collectively by the team, he could tell the nightmare lingered.

"When they came over [to Australia last year] we beat them quite well, but we really would like to beat them overseas," Elsom said.

Asked if the Wallabies' intent would be to beat England by as many points as possible, Elsom said: "You can never beat them enough to repair that [loss]. But you definitely would feel good to put a good game against them."

Elsom, who made his Test debut against Samoa in 2005, has quickly embraced the rivalry between Australia and England.

"They are big matches," said the flanker who has shown scintillating form in his two games at this year's World Cup.

The Waratahs hardman also declared he was up to playing all seven games in the tournament if necessary.

"I just like to keep playing," Elsom said."The games are very taxing. After Cardiff we shot back here [Montpellier] and you could tell the boys were stuffed after the game, it was really tiring. Seven days is usually long enough [to recover].

"But I would prefer to play [all seven games]. I think I could. Although, it probably would be smart somewhere to have a bit of a break."

Elsom said he believed the Wallabies had improved faster than even they had expected, despite concerns over their second-half effort against Wales at Cardiff last Saturday, when the Welsh scored in the first four minutes to threaten a repeat of last year's come-from-behind 29-29 draw.

"We have come along a bit quicker than expected in as much as getting our patterns and continuity down pat," Elsom said. "After Berrick [Barnes] got thrown in there, the patterns and continuity was still quite good which can be a problem when you get a new bloke [in the team]."