Springbok reunion brings back pain for survivor Sackey

By Mitch Phillips

LONDON (Reuters) - When England wing Paul Sackey lines up against South Africa on Saturday he will do so as the "father of the backs" and the only survivor in that division from the World Cup final team against the Springboks 13 months ago.

It has certainly been dizzying rise for the 29-year-old, who thought he had missed the England boat before finally getting the summons for his debut, against the All Blacks no less, as a late call-up for an injured Mark Cueto in November 2006.

Sackey went into the World Cup with four caps to his name and was very much an outsider to make the starting XV.

Two years on, his two tries against the Pacific Islanders a fortnight ago have taken his tally to an impressive 10 in 17 tests.

Asked how he felt to be the sole survivor from the Stade de France he had to run through the names to make sure it was true. But, sure enough, retirement, injury and loss of form have conspired to leave Cueto, Jason Robinson, Mathew Tait, Mike Catt, Johnny Wilkinson and Andy Gomarsall out of the picture for the re-match.

In fact only three others remain - number eight Nick Easter and props Phil Vickery and Andrew Sheridan - as England look to build a new team under Martin Johnson.

Sackey said he is excited to be a part of the new era but even a thumping victory at Twickenham on Saturday (2:30 p.m.) could not come close to repairing the devastation of Paris.

"Winning on Saturday would make me feel better but it won't make up for the World Cup. I don't think anything can erase that pain other than getting to another World Cup final and winning it," he said this week at England's training base.