For his final Observer report, our stalwart writer offers his reflections on decades covering a sport rich in drama and spectacle but that now stands at a crossroadsThe car was a cross between a Lada and a Trabant, a cut-and-shut probably. It was parked in a taxi rank outside the one hotel in Bucharest that had any swank or alcohol. It was 1994 and the following day Wales were playing Romania as punishment for making an early exit from the World Cup three years before. The International Rugby Board had held a media conference about nothing very much and it was time to retire to a modest establishment on the outskirts of the city to serve up the match preview.Behind...
Underdogs turned the rugby world upside down to beat the odds-on All Blacks and create one of the greatest games in the history of the tournamentIn these dark days the unscripted drama of live sport feels more important than ever. The second World Cup semi-final at Twickenham in 1999 seems like yesterday to me even though Émile Ntamack, France’s left-wing on that autumn day, now watches his son play for their country. No one in the stadium will ever forget it. At the end, and I kid you not, I turned round from my seat in the East stand press box and grown men were actually weeping.Context is all. This wasn’t just an astonishing spectacle. It came, like so many...
Cricket tour allows supporters to be enthusiastic again after semi-final defeat in the Rugby World CupWhichever side loses the Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama on Saturday, the country concerned will be plunged into what you might call shallow mourning. Or at least a portion of it will: largely but not wholly white, male and middle-class.But in a faraway and now, once again, more or less forgotten country, it goes deeper and wider than that. Continue reading...
They added to the Rugby World Cup semi-final theatre against the All Blacks without overstepping the boundaries of decencyThe V-shaped formation England went for in Yokohama, which emulated France’s response in the 2011 World Cup final at Eden Park, set the tone for their dominant semi-final victory over the All Blacks.Sure, several players stepped over the halfway line and World Rugby probably feels duty-bound to fine England for breaching this rule, having done likewise with France eight years ago. It must also be acknowledged that officials were only doing their job in attempting to instruct England prop Joe Marler, and others, to move back behind the line. Those players knew exactly what they were doing. Related: England could face fine...
South Africa should provide a sterner test than New Zealand but I think England will be able to create more in attackThe biggest compliment I can pay to England is that they made New Zealand look one-dimensional on Saturday. The All Blacks possess the best attacking armoury in the world and England made them look like they didn’t really know what to do. The first half in particular from England was the best I have seen from them and I cannot remember a match in which New Zealand have been so comprehensively outgunned.Later that day Harlequins played Bristol and, of course, all the English boys were giving me a bit, as they should, but from a Kiwi perspective it was...