Author: Andy Capostagno

Two decades have passed since a Northern Hemisphere nation won the World Cup. The tournament of 2023 was supposed to change all that, writes Andy Capostagno. Host nation, France, was in fine fettle, Ireland had been consistently the best team in the world for two years and both Wales and England knew how to deal with knockout rugby. And yet, come the semi-finals, there were three Rugby Championship nations on view alongside an England team rather surprised to be there. What can we take from this? Well, in addition to South Africa and New Zealand contesting the final, remember that…