The English question

One thing you can predict with safety – more wailing and gnashing of teeth if the Heineken Cup turns sour for the English Premiership once again. Julian Bennetts reports.

SOMETIMES you get the feeling the English can do nothing right. When Clive Woodward, Martin Johnson and friends were sweeping all before them to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup, they were characterised as Neanderthals, the brute force of their club game giving them an unfair advantage over more skilled individuals.

Fast-forward seven years, and last season’s abject Heineken Cup failure has led to more complaints – about the salary cap, the way the game is refereed differently by continental officials and about how the Aviva Premiership is too tough for their representatives to compete in Europe.