PAUL REES

AS THE start of the World Cup looms, the heat increases. Steve Borthwick has been mopping his brow increasingly as the summer series has progressed and criticism of his side intensifies. The four-times finalists were written off long before a first defeat to Fiji.
Fiji yesterday presented both a blessing and a curse. For all their individual flair, the islanders do not hold the same cohesion as countries used to the intensity of tier one tournaments, but if they are disrespected they have the ability to redden faces.
It was as the rain poured down at Twickenham that the sun came ...