Rugby World Cup

A few thoughts about the World Cup and professional sports in general. (I am nowadays incapable of weaving these points into a seamless whole, preferring the PowerPoint school of exposition.) (At least I put the full stop in the right place.)

• The shock following England's early elimination reflected the bitter feeling of disappointment, for, unlike The Lads (aka Roy's Boys), we were really expecting and expected to do well this time.
• Personally, I was in a bad way after the loss to Wales, a match we should have won. Things can go badly wrong very quickly in rugby.
• I did not feel so dejected after the Australia match. There is no shame in losing to a better team. Australia and Australians should be proud of themselves. A fine team with limited resources playing beautiful rugby.
• Looking back, the key to England's demise has been the gradual decline of its once dominant pack. At best, they have been holding their own but they are no longer capable of putting their opponents on the back foot.

• The more popular a sport becomes, the more it attracts money. The greater the financial rewards, the harsher the penalty for failure. Professional sport at the highest level is nowadays virtually a matter of life and death. Amongst other things, it forces the media to adopt the inflated language of Hollywood: "Dead Man Walking" when a coach is fired. You can no longer say "it's only a game" because that would send the whole financial edifice crashing to the ground.

• Finally, a glimpse of sanity from Welsh coach Warren Gatland: Towards the end of England's defeat by Australia, "I turned to my wife and said whatever happens in the next 20 minutes will change people's lives". He continued: "You've got to put things into perspective. It's great that we've qualified, but you've got to feel for other teams because there are families and livelihoods at stake."