Silver lining of World Cup disaster

At the risk of redefining the delusional practice of clutching at straws, perhaps there is something to be said after all for making an early exit from the World Cup. Some circumstantial evidence in flimsy support of such an implausible theory can be found in the opening round of the Champions Cup.

England went all the way in Japan yet only two of their six contenders for Europe’s glittering prize avoided defeat.