If this were a movie, the scriptwriters would be shoo-ins for an Oscar, the plot centred on a dominant team who overcame the heartbreak of losing two back-to-back Rugby World Cup finals to complete an eight-year redemption arc and become world champions again at last.
Before Saturday’s final, England had lost once in 63 games and that blot on their record stained everything. But no more. They are world champions for a third time and this one may taste all the sweeter for being played out in front of a world-record crowd of 81,885. The result will have apermanent effect on the sport in England.
