CHRIS HEWETT
THINKING ALLOWED

THE way Clive Woodward saw it back in 2003, the International Rugby Board’s new-fangled ranking system was a many-splendored thing. “I love the thought of England travelling to the World Cup as the number one team,” he said ahead of that year’s global gathering in Australia. “It means everyone else will be looking up at us, wondering if they’re good enough.”
Martin Johnson? He took a different view ahead of the 2011 tournament. “Does anyone really care what the rankings say?” he would ask the usual suspects in the Fleet Street hack pack during his time as Woo...