‘Managing a rugby team is a lot like running a small business,’ says former England boss Sir Clive Woodward, just one example of the kind of dizzying repartee on display in this for-the-fans documentary about our boys’ unlikely Rugby World Cup win in 2003. So it’s testament to director James Erskine, whose tennis doc ‘Battle of the Sexes’ was such a treat in 2013, that ‘Building Jerusalem’ is as watchable as it is, even for someone who still sniggers whenever they hear a hefty man being referred to as a hooker.
The star of the show here, inevitably, is Jonny Wilkinson, who talks openly about his own insecurity and perfectionism, and, amazingly for a major sports personality, comes across as charming, intelligent and self-effacing. The story is hardly new – ragtag band of scrappy losers drag themselves up by their muddy bootstraps and make a bid for glory – but thanks to Erskine it’s crisply told and unexpectedly compelling. Shame about that painfully pompous title, though.
Building Jerusalem

Time Out says
Rugby fans will thrill to to this slick, entertaining documentary about England's win at the 2003 World Cup
Release Details
- Release date:Friday 28 August 2015
- Duration:93 mins
Cast and crew
- Director:James Erskine
Discover Time Out original video