RUGBY UNION Ragged and vulnerable, the Red Rose wilted when all expected them to bloom
Sth Af i
Neil Squires
AXS Owen Farrell lay on the ground and turned to see Cheslin Kolbe disappearing towards the try line in Yokohama he must have known it was w all over.
The South African wing had justj slipped through the England captain’sc fingers and so had the Rugby World Cup.
In Farrell’s eyeline was a giant pale blue hoarding with an image of the trophy and the words ‘ RWC final’. England had just lost it after a performance they will regret for the rest of their lives.
England had breezed through this tournament as if they were to the manor born – but when it mattered, when it was all on the line, they fell horribly short.
They were ragged. They were vulnerable. And they were well beaten by the deserved winners, South Africa.
Humbling
Did England get ahead of themselves after the humbling of the All Blacks? Well certainly some people did with one high street store removing ‘England world champions 2019 T-shirts’ from their online offerings.
The players will insist until their dying day that they did not – but they played like a team who just expected to win.
Turn up at the same ground at the same time and they would play the same wouldn’t they? Well, they didn’t. Not by a long chalk.
After the majesty of a week ago came the misery of a no-show on the biggest night of their careers. It was 80 minutes they will never get back.
Four months ago Eoin Morgan lifted the Cricket World Cup at Lord’s. The cricket showpiece was agonising ecstasy, a slow- burner against New Zealand which reached molten temperatures when the Super Over went supernova.
That was a day for Lord’s to