CHRIS HEWETT
THINKING ALLOWED

There are exceptions to the general rule – the best three-minute pop songs, James Joyce’s stories in Dubliners, the wonderful actor Toby Jones – but, all things considered, long is better than short. Test cricket versus T20? No contest. Test rugby against the seven-aside version. Please.
Union’s abbreviated form is not to be dismissed out of hand: the premium on skills and the demands on fitness are very high indeed. But, to these eyes at least, there is not enough going on – too little in the way of light and shade, too few ways of skinning a cat – for seve...