In 2008, the RFU issued a mission statement as part of its long-term vision for the game. It was a strategic eight-year plan that covered every level of the sport.
In terms of scope and ambition, it dwarfed anything that Stalin may have decreed as achievable in the Soviet Union. Instead of tractors, however, it alluded to a glorious scenario in which an all-singing, all-dancing Sweet Chariot rolled off a lubricated production line. The metaphor of a machine is one that is difficult to escape when talking about English rugby.
With specific reference to its expectations for “Team England”, it talked grandiosely about the aim of winning the next two World Cups; a semi-final would be a minimum requirement. “It is considered to be a