Forget football – rugby is the real beautiful game

The question is surely destined to become a pub quiz staple: ‘Who moved a bottle 18 inches across a table and was said by the media to have wiped millions from the share price of a major corporation?’ Cristiano Ronaldo’s casual dismissal of a product-placed bottle of Coca-Cola — and Paul Pogba’s subsequent pushing aside of a bottle of Heineken — during Euro 2020 press conferences earned them nearly as much attention as any sleight of foot they performed on the pitch.

For years the corporations have been mightier than the players but this isn’t the case any longer. There has even been some talk of legal action against Ronaldo and Pogba but who would this benefit? More to the point, who would be most damaged? The players are generally seen as the good guys in this and the brands will proceed with care.

It’s only a few days now until Wimbledon is back — and with capacity crowds for the finals. If there is a match a fraction as good as the semi-final between Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in Paris the other week we will be blessed. That was a match of such stupendous skill, physicality and excellence it was almost laughable. Nobody should be able to play like this. But is Wimbledon about to have its Usain Bolt moment — as in the moment when he’s gone? There’s no Nadal, Federer is creaking and Serena is chasing one last Slam that’s clearly out of reach. There’s just Djoko left and he’s no youngster. He’s prone to going two sets down in big matches, taking a comfort break and returning to play like Superman. Those changing rooms must be very special places.

Forget all the talk of football as the beautiful game — the really beautiful game is rugby, and its ultimate expression came at Ashton Gate in the Premiership semi-finals at the weekend when Harlequins overcame a 28-0 deficit to beat Bristol 43-36 in one of the most thrilling matches ever played in any sport.