SPORT, AS WITH POLITICS, NEEDS THE RIGHT DECISIONS.

To criticise from afar is the easiest thing to do, some situations, however, actually shout at you by way of satellite television from thousands of miles away. It is, therefore, unsurprising that England capitulated to France in the Rugby World Cup, due to disciplinary decisions which should have been made weeks earlier, following a drunken night out shortly after the opening game vs. Argentina involving the sometime captain of the England team; a 'B lister' from the writer's perspective, who held his stag night in Rio, or somewhere in South America, where he and his entourage could get legless. He, of course, had to brag about it later. This act alone tells the Rugby Football Union and management that he is unfit to be included, never mind being an optional captain for the squad. We are, of course, referring to Mike Tindall, who, when socialising, makes the average 'down and out' look like a 'fashion plate', this when he needed to be acting like an ambassador, representing his country. There were also misdemeanours committed by junior members of the party. All of which is superb fodder for an anxious press seeking out stories to sell their next edition. As WC Fields would have said; "Never give a sucker an even break". Probably in acting like a sucker, Tindall managed to put the boot on the other foot.

By the time of the quarter final against France, the game was up. Martin Johnson knew that Tindall was the problem, as the press wouldn't let go; which obviously had an adverse effect on the team, whose minds would have been deflected from the task in hand.

These observations are not 'sour grapes', since any team that plays not to lose, rather than playing to win, cannot succeed in a knock-out competition.

ACT UPON YOUR INITIAL REACTIONS WHEN THE ANSWER IS SO OBVIOUS.