Choosing the right word is not easy

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Bill Beaumont

TOKYO, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 02: Bill Beaumont, President of World Rugby looks on during the Rugby World Cup 2019 match schedule announcement at Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa on November 2, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

CHRIS HEWETT

Does language matter? We are not talking Bongi Mbonambi-Tom Curry here, although no one should underestimate the importance of getting to the heart of that particular matter, but in a much wider sense.
Brian Ashton, the head coach when England finished runners-up at the 2007 World Cup, had strong views on the subject. He disliked, with a passion, such words and phrases as “drill” (“we’re not in the bloody army”), “breakdown” (“makes it sound like everything’s gone wrong”) and “ball-carrier” (“if a player can’t carry the ball, what’s he doing out there?”).
And now we have Ashton...

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