England's stars fall short again

England's heroic rugby players returned home today clearly in high spirits despite defeat by South Africa in the World Cup Final on Saturday.

Brian Ashton's men surpassed expectations to get as far as they did in the tournament and spent most of the weekend partying in Paris despite losing 15-6.

Teetotaller Jonny Wilkinson even admitted to breaking his non-alcohol rule and having "a lot of fun", but feeling "rank" on Sunday morning.

The jokes continued as the squad touched down at Heathrow when Lawrence Dallaglio pulled down prop Matt Stevens' shorts as they posed for pictures on the steps of their plane.

Wilkinson also revealed that he had been playing with the pain of an ankle injury for the entire tournament.

The fly-half turned his ankle in training before the tournament and missed the pool matches against USA and South Africa.

"The fact is my right ankle has been giving me trouble throughout the tournament," he said. "I've been having treatment on it pretty much every day and, for the first time, I had to have treatment on it at half-time on Saturday."