Have England come full circle?

'If you can meet with triumph and disaster...'

England have weathered all sorts of dramas since they hoisted the Webb Ellis trophy in Sydney on November 22, 2003. We take an in-depth look at an incredibly eventful year.

November 22, 2003: England become the first northern hemisphere side to win the Rugby World Cup, a Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal in the last minute of extra-time handing them a 20-17 win over a game Wallaby side at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney.

December 8: Hundreds of thousands of England supporters pay tribute to the RWC heroes at a victory parade in central London. The city's West End grinds to a halt as the England team - travelling in an open-topped bus - hold aloft the William Webb Ellis trophy in front of a delirious crowd. The day also includes tea with the Queen at Buckingham Palace and a champagne reception at 10 Downing Street.

December 28: England's World Cup hero, Jonny Wilkinson, leaves the field during the Newcastle Falcons' game against Northampton Saints. He is clutching his right shoulder - he will not play again until August 2004.

December 31: Coach Clive Woodward and captain Martin Johnson head a long list of rugby stars named in the New Year Honours list. Woodward becomes 'Sir Clive' after being knighted, skipper Martin Johnson - who like Woodward already had an OBE - is promoted to CBE, and Jonny Wilkinson - already a recipient of a MBE - is bumped up to OBE.

January 15, 2004: Leicester confirm that England flanker Lewis Moody's stress fracture of the foot is worse than first thought. He does not play again until August either.

January 17: England captain Martin Johnson announces his retirement from international rugby. Johnson led England to World Cup victory in November, saving one of his finest performances for the dramatic win over Australia in the final. He captained England 39 times during his 84 Tests, and led the British Lions on tours in 1997 and 2001.

January 28: England flanker Lawrence Dallaglio is (re)named as England's new rugby union captain. Dallaglio captained England 14 times before being forced to resign in May 1999 following newspaper allegations surrounding his private life. 

February 15: The absence of Johnson and Wilkinson doesn't seem to affect England as they rout Italy 50-9 at Stadio Flaminio in Rome in their opening Six Nations game. Jason Robinson scores an electric hat-trick of tries.

February 21: England retain the Calcutta Cup with a 35-13 win over Scotland at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, but the world champs seem somewhat taken aback by their hosts' early fireworks display.

March 3: England scrum-half Kyran Bracken calls time on his international career a decade after he made his Test debut. The Saracens star won 51 caps (three as captain), his last coming as a replacement in the 2003 RWC semi-final win over France.

March 6: Ireland pull the rug from under the feet of the world champions by battling their way to a famous 19-13 victory over England at Twickenham. A try by Ireland fullback Girvan Dempsey and 14 points from the boot of Ronan O'Gara are enough to bring England's 22-match winning streak at home to a battered end.

March 9: England prop Jason Leonard, world rugby's most capped player with 114 Tests (two as captain), retires from international rugby after being omitted from England's Six Nations squad to play Ireland.

March 15: Having made himself unavailable for the summer tour to New Zealand and Australia, England flanker Neil Back announces he will retire from international rugby. The 35-year-old won 66 England caps (four as captain) during a Test career spanning nine seasons.

March 20: England manage to subdue a lively second-half resurgence from Wales to record a 31-21 win in a pulsating encounter at Twickenham. The visitors clearly fancied picking up were their Celtic cousins had left off and, leading 21-16 with less than 15 minutes to go, managed to silence Twickenham and turn an anxious Sir Clive the colour of an England shirt - but the world champs pulled through.
 
March 27: France confirm that England's Rugby World Cup honeymoon is most definitely over as they hold off a spirited English fightback to collect the 2004 RBS Six Nations title, and the Grand Slam, courtesy of a 24-21 win at Stade de France in Paris. France capitalise on some shoddy defence to rack up 21 points in the first period of the game, and hold on to leave England third in the final overall Six Nations table.

April 16: England hooker Dorian West confirms his decision to retire from Test rugby. He won 19 caps for England, and was on the bench during the 2003 RWC Final.

May 7: England prop Phil Vickery undergoes surgery on a bulging disc - he doesn't play again until October.

May 14: England fly-half Paul Grayson announces he is to retire from international duties in order to spend more time with his wife and three children. Grayson ends his Test career with 32 caps and 400 international points.

June 12: On tour, New Zealand give England a lesson in total rugby in Dunedin, recording an awe-inspiring 36-3 victory over the world champions. Indeed, this is the biggest defeat by any reigning Rugby World Cup champion, eclipsing South Africa's 28-0 defeat to the All Blacks in 1999.

June 19: England are condemned to another All Blacks bruising after Simon Shaw's red card left them playing with 14 men for most of an eventful Test in Auckland. The tourists were leading 6-0 when Shaw was sent off after 10 minutes for kneeing New Zealand lock Keith Robinson in the back. The home side took advantage to score five tries, wing Joe Rokocoko leading the way by claiming a hat-trick.

June 26: England's season ends as Australia secure their first win over England since 1999 - and the Cook Cup - by recording an impressive 51-15 victory in Brisbane, with Wallaby wing Clyde Rathbone making the most of a very late call-up by collecting a hat-trick of tries. England - in their 18th Test of the season - looked positively geriatric in comparison to the fleet-footed Australian backs, and had no answers to their opponents' scything breaks.

August 31: After 10 years and 73 caps, Lawrence Dallaglio calls time on his international career, and steps down as England captain.

September 3: Twickenham reels as Sir Clive Woodward resigns as England's head coach after a row with the RFU over access to England players, but a desire to move into football is also believed to have played a part in his shock decision. Andy Robinson, Woodward's former assistant, becomes the caretaker boss.

September 20: Scrum-half Matt Dawson is dropped from England's Elite Player Squad after he is unable to attend training due to media commitments.

October 3: England flanker Richard Hill ruptures his anterior cruciate ligament and is ruled out for up to nine months.

October 4: England darling Jonny Wilkinson is named as the nation's new captain for the three November Tests. The fly-half takes over from Lawrence Dallaglio, who retired from internationals in August.

October 10: England captain Jonny Wilkinson injures his bicep whilst playing Saracens - he goes on to miss England's November Test series.

October 15: The RFU announce that Andy Robinson has been appointed head coach of England until June 2008.

November 9: England flyer Jason Robinson becomes the first former Rugby League player to lead England after being named captain for the Test against Canada.

November 10: Hooker Mark Regan becomes the eighth member of England's World Cup-winning squad to retire from international rugby. He tells Robinson of his decision after Steve Thompson and Andy Titterrell were chosen ahead of him to face Canada.

November 13: Andy Robinson's career as England coach gets off to an accomplished start at Twickenham, with the hosts handing Canada a veritable thumping. England captain Jason Robinson claimed a hat-trick as the hosts put together a 70-0 victory.

November 20: England bully South Africa into submission with an accomplished 32-16 victory at Twickenham. It is the side's sixth successive victory over South Africa, and a major statement of intent from new coach Andy Robinson and his team, who left Tri-Nations champions South Africa floundering through an outstanding overall display. The faithful at HQ whisper, "we're back!"