England Rugby 2003 World Cup Signed Shirt.

This shirt has been signed by the England Back row 'Holy Trinity' of Neil Back, Richard Hill and Lawrence Dallagio. A fantastic item signed in person by these legends of the game. A fantastic way to celebrate and remember England's 2003 Rugby World Cup Win. It is ready to frame and can be framed at an additional cost.

Rugby Memorabilia- Signed England Rugby Shirt RWC 2003 by 3 members of the squad. This fantastic and very rare rugby memorabilia item is a signed England rugby shirt from the 2003 rugby world cup fully hand signed by the three winning back row members. The players are the great back row "Holy Trinity" of Richard Hill, Neil Back and Lawrence Dallagio

Richard Hill Bibliography

Richard Anthony Hill MBE was born 23 May 1973 and is a former rugby union footballer who played flanker for Saracens and England. Often portrayed as the 'silent assassin' at both club and international level, he was renowned for his effective and abrasive style of forward play. Big hits, shrewd driving and energy-sapping support play, were features of his game which made him one of the most highly rated flankers of his era.

Although he had been named in England's 2003 Rugby World Cup squad, his place appeared at risk after he suffered a hamstring strain on the eve of the tournament. His England Coach Clive Woodward decided, correctly in the end, that it was worth the risk to keep Hill in the team.

He missed the pool games, but was encouraged by the team physios that it was still possible to recover in time for the semi-final.He was named in the starting line up for the semi-final against France. England easily coped with the much-vaunted French back-row and he played a key role in helping England defeat Australia in the final.

His England career during a career spanning 1997-2008 resulted in 71 Caps and 60 points scored. A true legend of the game.

 Neil Back Bibliography

Neil Antony Back MBE was born 16 January 1969 and is a former international rugby union footballer for England and the British and Irish Lions who also played for Nottingham RFC, Leicester Tigers, and captained both England and Leicester during his career.

During his international career he played in three World Cups - SA'95, FR'99 & AUS'03 where he was an integral part of the 2003 World Cup winning side. He also went on three British and Irish Lions Tours - SA'97 Winners, AUS'01 & NZ'05.

He gained 66 caps for England, captaining them to victory four times, scored 16 tries and 1 drop goal (the only England Forward to do so in a Test Match in the history of the game). His preferred position was as an openside flanker.

On retirement from playing he concentrated on his coaching career where he has coached at Leicester Tigers, Leeds Carnegie, Rugby Lions and Edingburgh Rugby.whilst gaining all of the RFU Coaching Awards and now has over a decade of coaching experience.

Lawrence Dallagio Bibliography

Lorenzo Bruno Nero "Lawrence" Dallaglio, OBE  was born 10 August 1972 and is a retired English rugby union player and former captain of the English national team. He played as a flanker or number eight for London Wasps and never played for another club, having arrived at Sudbury as a teenager. He was capped in all three positions in the back row, and captained England several times.

He was a member of the inaugural World Cup Sevens-winning squad with England in 1993. He was then a surprise choice for the 1994 England tour to South Africa. He made his full England debut in November 1995 as a substitute against the Springboks and toured South Africa as a member of the 1997 British & Irish Lions squad.

He was given the England captaincy in the autumn of 1997 by new coach Clive Woodward, taking over from Phil de Glanville. The other candidate for the job, Martin Johnson, had led the Lions tour, but Dallaglio was preferred. Unfortunately he relinquished the captaincy in 1999 due to a scandal and Martin Johnson was handed the captaincy.

He was a key member of the 2003 England Grand Slam and World Cup-winning side, being the only player to play in every minute of England's World Cup campaign. With the World Cup win, he became one of the two players - the other being England scrum half Matt Dawson - to have won the World Cup in both the 15- and 7-a-side competitions.

He was re-appointed as captain after Martin Johnson retired, but In August 2004, he announced his retirement from the national team due to the brutal demands of international rugby but after being selected for the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand he changed his mind and made himself available for international selection again.

 At the end of 2005, he announced that he was making himself available again for England selection and he was included in the squad for the 2006 Six Nations Championship. He was named on the bench for England's opening match of the tournament against Wales on 4 February at Twickenham. He gained three more caps off the bench during the tournament, but did not play in the last game of the championship, when England lost 28–24 to Ireland.

He continued to play for England, especially in the number eight position, forming — with Neil Back and Richard Hill — the Hill, Back, Dallaglio back-row trio affectionately nicknamed the Holy Trinity.

On 15 June 2007, Dallaglio was one of 47 players chosen by England coach Brian Ashton to attend a pre-World Cup training camp and he was later named in the 30-man World Cup squad, alongside Joe Worsley and Jason Robinson, He started the first game at number eight, but was dropped for the South Africa match in favour of Nick Easter, who became first choice for the rest of the tournament. Following the loss to South Africa, England began to improve steadily and, against most expectations, reached the final, where they lost a closely fought game. The improvement in performance was credited to the influence of a number of senior players, including Dallaglio and Mike Catt.

On 3 January 2008, he announced that he was retiring from international rugby with immediate effect and from domestic rugby at the end of the current season. He ended his career with 85 caps and 85 points.

 2003 Rugby World Cup

The England Squad from the tournament is as follows

Player Position

Iain Balshaw Fullback

Josh Lewsey Fullback

Jason Robinson Fullback

Stuart Abbott Centre

Will Greenwood Centre

Mike Tindall Centre

Ben Cohen Wing

Dan Luger Wing

Mike Catt Fly-half

Paul Grayson Fly-half

Jonny Wilkinson Fly-half

Kyran Bracken Scrum-half

Matt Dawson Scrum-half

Andy Gomarsall Scrum-half

Jason Leonard Prop

Danny Grewcock Lock

Simon Shaw (IR) Lock

Phil Vickery Prop

Julian White Prop

Trevor Woodman Prop

Mark Regan Hooker

Steve Thompson Hooker

Dorian West Hooker

Martin Johnson (c) Lock

Ben Kay Lock

Neil Back Flanker

Martin Corry N8

Richard Hill Flanker

Lewis Moody Flanker

Lawrence Dallaglio N8

Joe Worsley Flanker

2003 Rugby World Cup Bibliography.

Rugby World Cup 2003 captured the imagination of the Australian public, just as the Sydney Olympics had three years earlier, and thousands and thousands of them attended matches across the country, not just in the traditional heartlands of the Game.

A total of 1,837,547 fans saw the 48 matches across 10 cities.The only thing missing was a successful defence of the Webb Ellis Cup for Australia, who had been in the unique position as hosts and defending champions.They came pretty close though, as they made the final and were only denied a third title in 4 tournaments when England kicked the winning drop goal in the dying seconds of extra-time to give them a 20-17 victory at Telstra Stadium.

Martin Johnson became the first northern hemisphere captain to win the Webb Ellis Cup after a final which had kept a record crowd of 82,957 on the edge of their seats for 100 minutes.England brought with them fifty thousand fans to the build up of the game,with fans descending to Sydney in the build up to the Final, many of them watching the action unfold on giant screens. The RWC 2003 started with a then record of 80 countries trying to qualify to take part.This meant that a further twelve teams would join the eight quarter-finalists from the tournament four years earlier to play in Australia.The 20 teams who qualified were then divided into four pools of five, and while the usual teams progressed to the last eight, the pool stages were not without their moments.

Australia only edged Ireland 17-16 to confirm top spot in Pool A with the Irish then beating Argentina by a single point to avenge their quarter-final play-off loss in 1999, while Scotland battled past Fiji 22-20 to join France as Pool B representatives in the last eight.

England also won the crunch Pool C encounter with South Africa 21-6 to avoid New Zealand in the quarter-finals, the Springboks bowing out at that stage following a 29-9 loss to the All Blacks and the arrival of Mike Catt off the bench helping England overcome Wales 28-17.

England and New Zealand were joined in the semi-finals by hosts Australia and France with a northern-southern hemisphere decider guaranteed for the 4th time in five World Cups as traditional rivals went head to head at Telstra Stadium.

It was only the second time Australia and New Zealand had met in a RWC semi-final and, just as in 1991, it was the Australian's emerging victorious 22-10, with 17 points from the boot of Elton Flatley and a Stirling Mortlock try.

The other semi-final would also be decided by the boot of Wilkinson, he scored all of England's points with 3 drop goals and 5 penalties in a 24-7 victory in the wind and rain which also saw Jason Leonard become the world's most capped player, surpassing Philippe Sella's 111 caps for France.

This item is a rare and much sought after Rugby Memorabilia item. a once in a life time opportunity to own a 2003 Signed RWC Finalist shirt. This is a must for any collector of rugby memorabilia Avery rare piece that will increase in in value.

AUTHENTICITY All signed items are supplied with a COA and lifetime guarantee,which carries our full name and contact details,we do not sell pre-printed,autopen or any other form of fake signature ABOUT US We have been a collector for over 20 years privately,and have supplied quality autographs to both Trade and public full time for over 2 years. We supply quite a few local businesses with framed items for resale.

POSTAGE AND PAYMENT We will combine postage on multiple purchases if purchased within a couple days of each other,All items are posted in either frame boxes or heavy duty jiffy bags ,or postal tubes or proper cd boxes.All items are insured to the value of the item (less post and packing) We post daily,so if paypal is used 90% are posted the next postal day. Most email enquiries are answered within 24 hours

PAYMENT METHODS: MOST CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:WE ACCEPT MOST CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS