Hail and farewell to the captains and the kings of the Rugby World Cup

The e-mail from the tournament organisers dropped yesterday with the usual hyperbole about what a great job they had done. And for once, you could not find fault with the declaration from World Rugby that England 2015 had been the sport’s biggest and best World Cup.

Record attendances, compelling competition and a whopping £80 million (€112m) surplus are difficult claims to argue with and it is a pleasure to report that personal experience actually confirms that such declarations are no overstatement.

Of course, this reporter might have had a different opinion crammed on a London to Cardiff express the morning of Ireland versus France, or been told the last train home to the Welsh valleys from the pool of death tussle with old foes England was to leave Twickenham at half-time. But one can only call it as one felt it and this World Cup was a tournament for the ages.