Why Wales and Ireland thrived in Rugby World Cup adversity – and England didn’t | Paul Rees

Despite being ravaged by injuries Wales and Ireland have proved to be teams in the full sense of the word, making themselves so hard to beat, while England failed to harness emotion positivelySport, wrote George Orwell, is war minus the shooting. As the World Cup moves on, the casualty rate seems to increase and a few more stretcher-bearers may be needed in Cardiff and Twickenham this weekend. Continue reading...