WITH this year's tournament marking the 20th anniversary of the inaugural Rugby World Cup, Alison Kervin, a former referee, journalist and England squad communications manager, charts the competition's development.
Through discussions with a number of the world's leading players, she is able to get to the heart of an event that has been transformed from an amateurish kick-about into a global jamboree third only to the football World Cup and the Olympics in terms of reach.
Quite what the current England squad would make of the drinking and socialising that accompanied the first tournament in 1987 is open to debate, but Kervin's anecdotes underline just how much has changed in the course of two decades.
Her methodical dissection of Sir Clive Woodward's tactical approach also highlights how far England's standards have slipped as they defend the Webb Ellis trophy they won in Australia four years ago.
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