Wilkinson with best mate Hill. (Getty Images)

By Neal Collins

At 2am last night, when England's players had answered the last of the "how do you feel to be a World Cup winner" questions from us, they were officially off-duty for the first time in two months.

As they headed off to The Opium Bar in The Rocks, strictly off limits to us scribes, the thought struck me... what do we actually know about England's World Cup winners.

And while non-playing hooker Mark Regan made his presence felt with a series of loud interventions as the final questions flew, what can I tell you about the quiet guys in the camp.

Here's how I see it...

1 Trevor Woodman: Like Phil Vickery, he's a Cornishman and his accent is even stronger than the Raging Bull's. I suspect some of our Australians mates were hoping for an interpreter at times when Woody had a word.

Like most front-rowers, he lives way from the spotlight but in seven weeks under the World Cup spotlight, he has made himself a permanent fixture at No 1. He leaves mystified by final referee Andre Watson's constant penalising of the England scrummage but as he said last night: "Who cares, we've got the World Cup."

2 Steve Thompson: One of life's nice guys. Girlfriend Fiona has been with him throughout the tour and Wally, as he is known at Northampton, claims his Glaswegian in-laws have even started supporting England. Thommo lives life on the excercise bike, burning off calories before breakfast. He openly accepts: "I've been a fatty all my life." Don't ask him if he was British Roller Skating champion as a youngster.

3 Phil Vickery: I suspect the Raging Bull will lead the herd when Martin Johnson stands down. He doesn't pretend to be the brightest guy in the bunch but then props rarely claim intellectual superiority.

But Vickery is a sincere man, perhaps too serious in press conferences. At one point he said a match was "life or death", realised he'd gone too far for England's strict low-profile code and went bright red.

He's a 27-year-old who has matured beyond his years since leading a second-string England to victory in Argentina last year. Though he too had problems with the ref in the final, his future is assured. Farewell Jason Leonard, hello Phil.

4 Martin Johnson: The fact that he hates journalists and press conferences makes it difficult to get to know our leader and inspiration.

I do know that his pre-match team talks, though brief, are telling. Before the Grand Slam in Dublin it was "Right, who's going to make the first big hit". In the semi, it was Churchillian enough to reduce Lawrence Dallaglio to tears.

I've shared a swimming pool with him a couple of times on this tour, but to be honest, other than a grunt, he's not the most approachable guy.

I remember his unsmiling acceptance of the Lions victory over South Africa in 1997... and his reaction to some of our inane questions on both tours.

But far more important than that is his impact, physical and mental, on the opposition... and referees. He'll be impossible to replace when he goes. And it won't be long.

5 Ben Kay: The direct opposite to Leicester club-mate Johnson in all ways barring ability in the line-out.

Big Ben is always approachable, never stops smiling. And he says it like it is. After a round of golf which involved caddy cart racing, he said: "I've quite enjoyed my day out with the vermin."

Kay spent much of his time improving his surfing on tour, though being gigantic he often found the board sinking under his mass. But the smile never leaves his face.

After a couple of fumbles in the final, Kay pretended to drop his winners medal when it was presented.

He knows fumbles are temporary, class is permanent.

6 Richard Hill: Jonny Wilkinsons's best mate spent much of the tour poolside, stretching out the dodgy hamstring and trying to keep his fitness levels up after the injury against Georgia.

He too hates the rigmarole of press conferences - and he was particularly scathing after the semi-final, when he left saying "What a waste of ****ing time" after a series of nit-picking questions. I can only agree.

Hillda will never relish the company of journalists but he carries weight in the camp. His miraculous comeback for the critical last two games will become part of the legend of Sydney 2003.

7 Neil Back: Thommo and Kay are nice guys but I think Backie takes the cake.

I saw one charity group make him do seven takes of a ridiculous scene for a television advert, and he didn't flinch despite the mirth of us onlookers.

Backie knows the job on and off the field. And he shirks nothing. Like the rest of The Dad's Army thirtysomethings, he had no problem going the 110 minutes of the final, a point made loudly by Regan last night.

I think I'll always remember Neil Back with blood on his face, refusing to leave the field unless manacled to a stretcher. The unsung hero of this World Cup, the Nobby Stiles of England '03.

8 Lawrence Dallaglio: On his day, the nicest of men, but he too can bite back if the question isn't right.

His tears during the anthems before the France semi-final endeared him to the nation, but he was close to the axe earlier in the competition.

Forced to play against Uruguay because of his lack of early form, Lol came storming back to form when it mattered... and was the only player to play in all seven games.

9 Matt Dawson: Going in to the tour, I would have said Daws was one of the cockier players. That's another way of saying he's an arrogant sod.

But perhaps he's heard too much of that. Down Under this time he was never less than forthcoming, and probably dared to say more than most of his team-mates.

With an early calf injury and problems linking with Wilko, Dawson also came good when it mattered... it was his late break which set up the dramatic drop goal.

10 Jonny Wilkinson: Though we saw little of him privately, anyone who watched Wilko's initial vice-captain's briefings would have been worried about his mental state. The Observer's Eddy Butler asked him if he was worried about becoming a basket case as he whitterd on about pressure and anxiety.

But then we began to realise that Jonny really does live on the edge of obsession. And as we saw in the final, he thrives on it.

11 Ben Cohen: Like his Northampton club-mate Dawson, he comes with a touch of arrogance.

Understandable really, when you see him up close, he's a giant of a man, an English Jonah Lomu with pace and perfectly honed weight.

Never got to speak to him much, and I think that's the way he prefers it. Didn't enjoy a try glut here, scoring just twice in the opening game, but he'll go home with uncle George ready to compare World Cup medals.

12 Mike Tindall: Very honest, very articulate behind that boxer's broken nose.

I got to know him when he was drafted back into the side for the final and he was brutally frank, insisting Clive Woodward had never explained the reasons behind dropping him for Mike Catt in the semi.

It worked though. Tindall was superb in defence and attack during the final. Much bigger and stronger than he looks from a distance.

13 Will Greenwood: England's top try scorer is a real sports nut. One of the highlights for him was watching the record-breaking Test between Zimbabwe and Australia in Perth. Always ready to talk about his favourite football club Manchester City too.

Easily the brightest England player judging by his ability to answer tough questions, as sharp as Dawson during interrogation but funnier.

Came through difficult trip home to see his pregnant wife Carol and produced some of the best tackles in the final.

14 Jason Robinson: A closed book for most of us, willing to talk but only in general terms. Just occasionally we got a glimpse of the real man, a devout Christian who used to be a bit of a ragamuffin in hs Rugby League playing days at Wigan.

Told us quite frankly "I won't read any of your papers" but still came across as a seriously decent bloke.

15 Josh Lewsey: Cracking lad, talked well and often. Told us of visits from cancer-stricken rugby fans and telegrams from his former army colleagues in the gulf.

Injury problems nearly sent him home, and he gave us great quotes on that feeling of looming disaster too. Came through to be one of the stars of the World Cup with his five try burst against Uruguay.