Square Mile Sport Awards - Vote Now!
There have been many successful British sports teams in 2007.This was the chance for you to choose which one was the most worthy of the O2 Sports Team of the Year award. The winner was decided from the 6 nominees below…
England, Rugby Union
Never before has English rugby risen from such a low ebb to astonishing feats of excellence in such a short period of time. The defending World Cup holders went into the 2007 tournament with few backing them to make any sort of impact. These fears were compounded when England narrowly scraped past USA and were then humiliated 36-0 by South Africa. Then came the revival, solid victories against Samoa and Tonga were then followed by a world-class win over Australia and a tense victory against France and all of a sudden England were in the World Cup final again. Losing to South Africa in the final did little to diminish the team's phoenix-like rise from the ashes.
Manchester United, Football
After two years of losing out to the power of Roman Abramovich’s wallet in the race for the Premiership, Manchester United struck back in the 2006/07 season convincingly beating Chelsea by a six-point margin to win back the League title. Led by the indomitable strike force of Rooney and Ronaldo, the Old Trafford team proved to be entertaining and worthy champions with the latter picking up no less than eight individual awards for his performances over the season and Sir Alex Ferguson winning the Premier League’s Manager of the Season award.
Jamie Murray and Jelena Jankovic, Tennis
Expectations among British fans of a much-needed Wimbledon tennis title have been focused almost exclusively on Tim Henman over the last decade, so it was something of a shock when Jamie Murray and his partner Jelena Jankovic ended the long wait by sweeping all before them on the way to the mixed doubles title at this year’s tournament. Murray, who has emerged from the shadow of his brother Andy, broke into the public spotlight in 2007 with some impressive double victories on the ATP Tour before stealing the show at Wimbledon to become the first Briton to win a title at the showcase event in 20 years.
Scotland, Football
The Scotland national football team has defied belief over the last twelve months putting together a string of results that few would have predicted at the start of the year. Having been drawn in the group from hell for their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, the little fancied Scots then proceeded to beat the much-vaunted French not once but twice. The latter 1-0 away victory in Paris, courtesy of a James McFadden wonder strike, has been lauded as one of the greatest performances in Scottish football history, commemorated since in the Hall of Fame at the Scottish Football Museum.
Sussex CCC, Cricket
Sussex County Cricket Club has emerged as one of the leading counties on the English domestic cricket scene with 2007 confirming their place at the top of echelon by recording back-to-back County Championship titles. The county’s victory this year was the third time Sussex has won the title in the last five seasons since it emerged as a cricketing force in 2003 when it picked up its first ever championship. A team without individual stars, Sussex have become a force to be reckoned with in all forms of domestic cricket.
London Wasps, Rugby Union
London Wasps have enjoyed a period of dominance over the last few seasons but winning the Heineken Cup has long been the most prestigious prize in domestic rugby. The dream became reality in 2007 when the team marched through the competition to pick up the trophy for the second time in the club’s history. Wasps defeated Leinster and Northampton on the way to a Heineken Cup Final against Leicester at Twickenham Stadium. With the game breaking the record for the biggest crowd for a club rugby match in the world, Wasps won the game 25-9 to become European champions.