England go from springboard to falling through a trap door

Paul Rees says the game in England is drifting and it's time for the RFU to exert greater control

Acute vision: Antoine Dupont is always a step ahead of his opponents
PICTURES: Getty Images

Four years, three words. “Close to invincible” was how Matt Dawson, a World Cup final winner with England in Australia a generation ago, described the men in white after the 2019 semi-final success against New Zealand in Yokohama. The scoreline was 19-7 but the All Blacks, who had not lost in the tournament that decade, were a distant second.
It was hard that evening not to imagine England dominating...

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