England win the Grand Slam.

I don’t like rugby but I do like it when England are victorious. I’m not remotely nationalistic – it’s just a reaction to the jingoism of the other home nations. I’ve grown tired of Scots who’ll support any team over England. I grew up with second-generation Irish boys who’d side with the IRA over the country that had given their parents a home. And it’s always fun to beat the Welsh who seem to think the game of rugby belongs to them. The English have a natural aversion to the sort of excessive patriotism that often afflicts other nations, so this Grand Slam triumph feels quite sweet. Great credit must go England’s Head Coach, Eddie Jones, who is Australian. The Irish, Scottish and Welsh rugby coaches are all from New Zealand. The Italian Head Coach is French. Doesn’t that make the all the jingoism even harder to understand?