'It was great to have my daughters with me at the end'
So it's all over for another four years and there were a lot of disappointed players in the dressing room after the final. We had a few quiet drinks after the game to reflect on what we'd achieved and even Jonny let his hair down and had his second drink in about four years!
See how the World Cup final was won
There were a lot of gutted players afterwards because we didn't win it but also a slight sense of relief that it was all over. It was a very quiet dressing room after the game, a complete contrast to the semi-final after we had beaten France.
Before the match, the team talk was to make sure we left absolutely nothing in the changing room, take the opportunity and keep our discipline. Ultimately, it was a few silly mistakes that cost us and three of the five penalties came from our errors. You just can't give Percy Montgomery those chances because he's been deadly all tournament. It was very disappointing because apart from the final three minutes of the first half when they were camped on our line, they never really looked like scoring.
As for our try that never was, we all thought Mark Cueto had scored. He is still adamant that it was a try and he has a good scoring record against South Africa. There just didn't seem to be any video angles where you could definitely say it wasn't a try at the time but with hindsight I guess the TMO got it right and a bit of his toe brushed the white line. What was arguably more disappointing is that Schalk Burger should have been sin binned for diving on top and preventing us from scoring. But you win some and lose some. We had the run against Australia and France and it just didn't go our way this time.
I'll look back at this World Cup with mixed emotions. On the one hand, it was an opportunity that got away and it was not the colour medal I wanted but on the other, it was an incredible journey. We still can't quite believe as a squad how we managed to do the things we did after such a short amount of time together and the closeness of this squad was incredible. It was great to play with Wilko again and just a shame my body didn't hold up for the full 80 minutes.
The likes of Simon Shaw, Paul Sackey and Andy Gomersall had immense tournaments but it's hard to single out anybody in this England squad. As for the opposition, I thought Bryan Habana had a brilliant tournament and Flourie du Preez also had an excellent tournament.
Whatever the future is for Brian Ashton, I think the future for England is bright. There's a great mix of experience and youth and watch out for the likes of Shane Geraghty, Nick Abendanon, Matthew Tait and Toby Flood in the future.
What next for Mike Catt? We'll have to wait and see. I'm going to enjoy my role at London Irish this season and then sit down and discuss things with my family before making a decision. It was great to have my daughter with me on my shoulders at the end of the final and lovely to wake up with her today. It's good to be home.
Mike Catt.
Mike Catt's Auto-biography, 'Landing on my Feet' Published by Hodder is available from November 1st from all book stores.
Have your say on the 2007 Rugby World Cup
Catt previews England v Australia
Catt on England v South Africa
23rd October, 2007
