I have been seven weeks in France and now everything could depend on one split second. That was certainly the case four years ago when Kieran Doherty took this picture of Jonny Wilkinson’s winning drop goal for England in the last minute of the 2003 Rugby World Cup final against Australia in Sydney.
Kieran’s insight into the game was crucial to the making of this picture. He knew that a drop goal from either side would win the match and as the seconds ticked away and England drove deeper into Australia’s half, the ball was passed to Jonny and the moment was captured perfectly.
This weekend’s final in Paris will be no different. In pursuit of that special moment, once again, all angles will be covered, whether it’s the winning try, penalty or a drop goal. Five photographers will be at ground level and two in elevated positions. One of them will need a head for heights as he will be in the roof structure almost directly over the pitch, an angle which can make interesting images like these by Philippe Wojazer.
With a tournament this long a lot of days are spent shooting pictures on the training ground. The teams are very keen to practise their moves in secret so we are allowed only 20 minutes at the start of a session to get the pictures that will hopefully illustrate the story of the day. Doing the same warm up session has certainly tested the imagination of the Reuters photographers here, but they seem to come up with the goods.
Having followed England since September 2 and watched some distinctly average performances in the early games, it’s a pleasant surprise to see them make the final against South Africa. It represents the culmination of years of hard graft, honing special skills and being driven by the will to win. I imagine it is pretty important for the players too.
Training pictures by Eddie Keogh, Bogdan Cristel and Eric Gaillard. Match action pictures by Eddie Keogh, Eric Gaillard and Eddie Keogh.
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