England play Argentina at Twickenham on Saturday with a starting XV that could, with total justification, have been different in every position. The reason? Players in the alternative XV are injured or recovering form after injury.
A conference starting today at Lensbury, in Teddington, southwest London, will begin the process of discovering whether the game has become too dangerous for its own good.
Medical experts from every one of rugby’s leading countries are involved in the two-day session towards the end of a year that has brought accusations that players have become too big, that referees are ignoring significant aspects of play that lead to injuries and that the demands made on leading players have become far too great.
“We are reaching a level where