Go easy on the England players, they're not the first RWC team to take off medals
The reaction to some of the England team refusing to wear their silver medals after the Rugby World Cup final has been staggering over the past few days.
After falling to South Africa 32-12 in Yokohama on Saturday, the England team have seemingly been called all the names under the sun for not wearing their medals around their neck.
While the team have been defended by some, Eddie Jones’ side have largely been treated with disdain.
But footage has been shared on Twitter by Phil Llewellyn of past runners-up having the exact same reaction as the England team.
In 2003, locks Justin Harrison and Matt Cobain, as well as Stirling Mortlock did not put their medals on, while others took theirs off as they walked away. In 2015, David Pocock is seen not wearing his medal either, but managed to avoid the scorn the English players have received.
The common denominator with this England team and the 03 Wallabies is Jones, who coached both sides. Perhaps this is an indication of the mentality that he inculcates into his players, and the belief that he gives them. Although many have described that attitude as being sore losers.
What does seem to be clear is that England did not become the first side to do this, and the entire ordeal may be a case of England-bashing more than anything else. While this may all seem quite trivial to some, the backlash has been immense, despite it being fairly common after all.
The fans at this Rugby World Cup have been nothing but incredible. We made a video looking at some of the highlights of this incredible World Cup for our team that were reporting live from Japan. #RugbyWorldCup
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Think it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
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