Twenty teams turn up for rugby union’s World Cup but, realistically, less than half a dozen can ever possibly win it — the heavyweight trio from the southern seas, New Zealand, South Africa or Australia and, from the north, 2007’s hosts France and, in any given year, one of the four from the British Isles.
Twenty teams turn up for rugby union’s World Cup but, realistically, less than half a dozen can ever possibly win it — the heavyweight trio from the southern seas, New Zealand, South Africa or Australia and, from the north, 2007’s hosts France and, in any given year, one of the four from the British Isles. The northerners’ record in the five tournaments staged so far is humdrum in the extreme: England have made two finals and won one, Wales and Scotland have each reached one semi-final and, that’s it.
Brace yourself for longueurs, too: if you can bring yourself to remember the drawn-out 47-day tedium of cricket’s World Cup in the spring, rugby’s at 44 days also threatens some elongated ennui, I’m afraid.
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