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'Everyone takes the mick out of me when I say I still think it was a try but I genuinely do'
Former England wing Mark Cueto will be willing Eddie Jones’ men to victory in Japan on Saturday, even if it means him losing his claim to fame.
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The ex-Sale star was a bootlace away from becoming England’s hero in the 2007 World Cup final against South Africa in Paris, where he was denied what he still believes was a match-winning try.
Referee Alain Rolland was unsighted when Cueto touched down in the corner early in the second half and Stuart Dickinson, the television match official, spent two minutes and 35 seconds reviewing footage before eventually deciding that the England man’s left foot had made contact with the touchline.
It consigned England to a 15-6 defeat and gives the class of 2019 the chance to make amends when they take on the Springboks in Yokohama.
“Everyone takes the mick out of me when I say I still think it was a try but I genuinely do,” said Cueto. “There’s a million angles to suggest it was a try and there was one angle where it was 50-50. So in that case you have got to go with it.”
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Cueto has no doubt England would have gone on to lift the World Cup had the try been awarded and he is equally convinced it would have been given today due to the advances in technology. “VAR is so prominent in football at the minute and is almost at the point where we were with the TMO 12 years ago,” he said.
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“It had only just been introduced to the game and there weren’t as many camera angles and as many cameras at the matches so it made it difficult. The one shot from behind that showed my foot in the air over the touchline, that camera is probably 100 metres away from where I actually was.
“That shows how basic the TMO was back then, whereas now they have got cameras in the flags so every angle is taken care of and you can get within a metre of every play in the game.
The build-up to the World Cup final in Yokahama is underway and central figures such as England's Billy Vunipola are under pressure to come up with some all-elusive match tickets to cope with the demand from family members https://t.co/jz2uMBxfNd
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 29, 2019
“Everything is so advanced now, you rarely get the decision wrong. Let’s hope there isn’t a controversial issue like that on Saturday but, if there was, I think you’d definitely be able to make a 100 per cent decision on whether it was or wasn’t.
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“We were 9-3 down so a converted try would have put us 10-9 in front with 20 minutes to go and suddenly all the pressure is on South Africa, who never looked like breaking us that day. South Africa didn’t get in our 22, they scored all their points from penalties. You never know how it would have gone but we were confident we could have closed the game out.”
The enormity of the decision hit home to Cueto a few days after he arrived back in England. “I remember filling my car at a petrol station when a white van went past with a load of builders in it who all shouted: ‘It was a try’,” recalled Cueto, who is now Sale’s commercial director.
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The teams will meet Under very different circumstances than 12 years ago ? #RWC2019
“I thought that was quite nice. If people are taking it that way and they’re not hurling rotten fruit and stones at me, then it’s not a bad thing. But I thought it would last maybe six weeks and once the World Cup has died down it would all be forgotten.
“But 12 years on, believe it or not, it still seems to come up every other day. It’s incredible really. But I see it as a positive. It’s my fifth year since I retired and you soon get forgotten so it’s quite a nice thing to be remembered. Obviously I’d rather be remembered for something a bit more positive.
“Certainly this week I knew it was going to be mentioned more than ever. I don’t know when it will go away, I think maybe if we go on to beat South Africa this weekend and win the World Cup then there’s almost no reason to refer back to ’07 any more. From a selfish point of view, that would be sad because then I’d be really forgotten, wouldn’t I?”
– Press Association
WATCH: Billy Vuniupola meets the media in Japan on Tuesday ahead of England’s World Cup final with South Africa
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
81 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to comments