England finally find a ruthless streak

FOR too long, English sports fans have looked on green-eyed at the ability of other country’s national teams, be they Germany’s footballers or Australia’s cricketers, to pull through in those clutch moments.

Even the England rugby team, who sit proud and deservedly atop the world rankings after beating New Zealand 15-13 on Saturday, had to endure a hat-trick of bundled Grand Slam bids and were drop-kicked out of the 1999 World Cup by South Africa.

But through those disappointments has emerged a ruthless squad of players who, over the last year, have begun to inflict on others what was all too often done to them.