Sebastien Chabal has achieved legendary status and here you can see why . .

Read more »

Stephen Jones looks back at the 2007 RWC in France.


Man of the tournament: Agustin Pichot (Argentina). Statesmanlike. If only there was a Nobel prize for rugby.


Player of the tournament: Juan Martin Hernandez (Argentina). The Maradona of rugby? Only on his bad days.


Coach of the tournament: (joint) Quddus Fielea (Tonga). Took warring factions and a scattered team with no facilities to within a score of South Africa. Jake White (South Africa). For grace in the face of political pygmies.


Icon: Jonny Wilkinson (England). You found anyone yet who doesn’t love him?


Best play: Takudzwa Ngwenya’s searing, rocket-like try for America against South Africa, when he sizzled past supposedly the world’s quickest wing, Bryan Habana.


Os du Randt Mystery: Os du Randt. Why? What is the hulking 20st South Africa prop for?


Class act: South Africa. After the South Africa-Fiji game, Fiji did a long, wonderful and interminable lap of honour. When they got back, South Africa were waiting to clap them off. The Boks’ replacement bench also stood to clap off Jason Robinson after the full-back pulled his hamstring in the pool game.


Most maligned figure: Graham Henry. It wasn’t the New Zealand coach’s fault that his fellow countrymen thought that all they had to do was walk off the plane at Paris airport to the awards presentation.

Read more »

A funny thing happened on the way to the Rugby World Cup final. One of the teams was mildly chided by their coach for playing rugby.


England's coach Brian Ashton is 80 minutes of 10-man rugby away from becoming Sir Brian Ashton – the reward for Clive Woodward and Alf Ramsey in taking England to World Cup glory.


I heard a radio grab of a comment he made yesterday which was so positively anti-rugby that any uncommitted rugby lover could have no business barracking for England to win the final against South Africa on Saturday.

"We back players to be able to adapt (in style), and this is what we did," Ashton said of England's semi-final win over France. "In fact, we played too much rugby."

Most chillingly for people who truly love rugby union, it didn't sound as if he was joking either.

Ashton explained:

"About 10 minutes into the second half we were throwing the ball around our 10m line. But why not kick for position and see what France could do with it?"

Played "too much rugby"? Isn't rugby what should be played at a Rugby World Cup?

Read more »