South Africa was quick to put the knife into England last night with gloating headlines and jokes on the internet

ENGLAND ‘CHOKED’

JONNY Willkinson was portrayed before the match as England’s trump card. But the South African media poured scorn on England as they toasted their victory. The Cape Times ran with the headline “Boks bring Cup home”. It said: “A ruthless South Africa punished England’s ill-discipline for a tight win over the defending champions.”

The Mail and Guardian ran with “Montgomery kicks SA to victory” and “Time for new heroes”.

Some of the South African fans were even crueller. One joke advert posted on the internet said: “For sale. One chariot, (low-swinging, sweet type), in urgent need of repair (wheels have come off...again). Tel. Phil, Twickenham 6-15.”

Another jibe read: “40,000 English spectators watched helplessly yesterday as 15 sportsmen choked in front of them, apparently after being force-fed a large slice of humble pie. A doctor attending the scene said that the men had a medical history of this sort of thing: apparently it also happened in Wembley in 1999, 2000 in Edinburgh, Lansdowne in 2001 and Paris last month.”

One Boks supporter wrote on the South African rugby internet forum: “The English really are pathetic. On one hand they say they had no expectation of victory and were just happy to make the fi nal.

“Fair enough. Then when someone points out they deserved to lose (which they did) they start crying like little boys. Grow up. You got smashed by a better team. Four more years, chumps”

BOND CALLING

DANIEL Craig, the new James Bond, really did telephone a good luck message to the England team from a fi lmset in Lithuania.

Bond and rugby go back a long way, judging by his films:

• You Only Win Twice

• Tomorrow Never Tries

• The World Cup Is Not Enough

• The Man With the Golden Boot

• Thunderball

• On Her Majesty’s Springbok Service

• Licence to Thrill • Goldwinger

• A View to a Goal

HOKEY COKEY

SOUTH Africans were telling jokes about the England team before the match.

A training session was delayed for nearly two hours after a player reported fi nding a white powdery substance on the practice fi eld.

Head coach Brian Ashton immediately suspended practice and called police to investigate.

Forensic experts determined that the white trail unknown to players was the try line

GETTING SHIRTY

SPRINGBOK fans created their own internet version of England’s shirt and sponsors, as a reminder of their 36-0 victory in the early stages

YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK

FANS of England and South Africa can still share a joke about the early departure about two of the most fancied sides.

England met France in the semifi nals. South Africa met Argentina in the semifi nals. Australia met New Zealand in the airport on the way home.

By the way, the New Zealand government has decided to change the name of the All Blacks to the Rainbow Warriors as they have been sunk by the French so many times