Rugby should refocus on its core values

THIS afternoon tens of thousands of cheery Irish people wearing green wigs will invade Twickenham for what has long been one of the cherished centrepieces of a year’s sports calender.

The annual tilt at the ’auld enemy never fails to get the juices flowing even though a new-found political correctness has, thankfully and at last, consigned that rallying cry to history along with the tragic events that sustained it.

The game, and all professional rugby, takes place against a background of growing concern on several fronts. The foremost is player welfare, especially around concussion, and the debilitating physical legacy a rugby career can bestow.