Non-hockey post: ENGLAND IN THE RUGBY WORLD CUP

I said that this was a hockey blog, and that was all I was going to post on, but...It's just one of those days, isn't it?

England beat France 14-9, so you're no doubt watching all the coverage of the English crowd and media going absolutely mental. But I'm listening to the French coverage, just to see what the view is like on the other side of La Manche. And listening to Radio France, the reaction is absolute shock. From TF1, the French equivalent of the BBC, is the simple headline "It's over for the Blues", which they follow up with "the beautiful story of the French team comes to an end in Paris". L'Équipe, the biggest French paper, is coming up with "The shattered dream" as their headline over a picture of the English players celebrating behind a beaten French player...and praise "the extraordinary, unbreakable defence of the England XV"
Then there was the classic shot of the Stade de France audio crew playing "Je ne regrette rien" by Edith Piaf as their exit song...and this was repeated on French radio, along with audio highlights of the French tries throughout the tournament-almost as some sort of memorial . The atmosphere in France is as if someone very near and very dear to the entire country has died. They were so, so sure that this was their year...
On a random note, it's a bit strange that ITV are using a song called "Living is a Problem Cause Everything Dies" as their exit song...I'd have stuck with Edith Piaf, myself...Anyway-back to France.
Chabal has just been interviewed, and said "some of the English players tackled harder than I ever thought possible"
One thing is for sure-the French nation is going to be a very quiet place tonight...