England's heroes poised to cash in

Published on Tuesday 25 November 2003 00:00

WITH all the talk of knighthoods, victory parades, Downing Street parties and lucrative ever-afters that await the victorious England rugby team when they return home today, it’s a wonder a plane was necessary to transport them from Sydney.

Amid frantic analysis of the effect of the historic win on everything from the national psyche to the stock market, one tabloid newspaper even predicted a baby boom in nine months’ time - due, of course, to the rocketing testosterone levels which accompanied the game in every red-blooded Englishman’s living room.

The team’s golden boy, Jonny Wilkinson, 24, who was being compared to David Beckham even before his last-minute drop-goal secured England’s place in the history books, is set to receive the freedom of the city of Newcastle, where he plays club rugby.

He is also in line for a knighthood and a potential 5 million in sponsorship deals, a substantial rise on his current 1.5 million annual earnings.

By becoming the first English world cup winners of a major sport since 1966, his less-celebrated colleagues could double or even triple their pay-packets.

"They are world champions and can at least double their earnings through personal appearances and sponsorship," said Rob Mason, the managing director of the sponsorship consultants SBI, whose client list includes Martel for the Grand National. "The question is, how long will that last? In terms of the man of the moment - Wilkinson - the issue is how much he wants to do."

While Wilkinson - Jonny to most of the London media, who deem his surname superfluous - hasn’t got Beckham’s balance of sport and showbiz, said MR Mason, his lack of interest in the limelight makes him an attractive proposition to sponsors.

And although players such as Wilkinson and Martin Johnson, who yesterday published extracts of his autobiography, are unlikely to have the same place in the nation’s hearts as footballers, they are seen as "fantastic ambassadors" at a time when football was having an image crisis, he added. "Wilkinson is a great player, and he is seen as ‘clean’ - he presents a low-risk option for sponsors."

Whether their earnings will reach anywhere near predictions, only time will tell. But the biggest winner is certain to be the game itself.

When the players touch down this morning, they will be hailed not only as sporting legends but saviours of a game which has always played second fiddle to football.

Rugby Union is expecting a huge rise in interest - and could see its value rocket as corporate sponsors rush to be the first to pin their names next to the best English team to win a world cup in four decades.

"Rugby has had a strategy in place to attract people to the game since 2002," said Alun James, the managing director of the sports sponsorship division at the public relations firm, Hill and Knowlton. "It is a strategy in which this success can act as a catalyst."

Mr James thinks the increase in players’ value will be significant but not dramatic: "You’re talking about 10 per cent rather than a trebling of value."

The team song, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, recorded by UB40 and United Colours, has a good chance of making the Christmas No 1 spot as patriotic England fans revel in the team’s glory.

Yesterday, even the Scottish Rugby Union was singing the England team’s praises.

Phil Anderton, of SRU, said he was delighted with the win, and the Scottish union was quick to capitalise on it by launching a new campaign to encourage young people to take up rugby.

Discover Rugby will offer every child born in 1990 - the year the national team last won the Grand Slam - the opportunity to collect a free rugby ball from Lloyds TSB Scotland.