It was the most iconic moment in the history of the English Rugby Union, but Nadine Dorries, the Foreign Secretary for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, confused her codes when she mistakenly claimed the 2003 World Cup final victory over Australia as referred to a rugby league match. .
Dorries, a Conservative cabinet minister, spoke at Portico Vine Amateur Rugby League Club in St Helens, Merseyside, at an event to celebrate the effect of a social impact program as part of the rearranged 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which takes place in England this fall.
More than £ 25.8 million has been spent on projects that bring about positive change in communities across the North of England.
Yet Dorries began her speech at the event by apparently referring to the moment when Jonny Wilkinson kicked the winning goal against the Wallabies in the World Cup final of the 15-and-side code almost 18 years ago.
She said: “I have always liked the idea of rugby league and my long-standing memory is that 2003 goal.
“I’ll let you in on a secret, I think we drank Bloody Mary’s at the time, it was 11 o’clock in the morning, but wow.
“What a moment it was not and I know from my limited watching – I’m not going to say I’m an expert watching it all the time – that it’s an increasingly physical and sometimes brutal sport and it often ends up in a scrum. . which actually makes me think a lot about politics.
“I think we have a lot in common and since many of the media like to call me the prime minister’s attacking dog, I sometimes wonder if I should try rugby.”