It is 10.30pm on October 3, 2015. The home dressing room at Twickenham is empty. The players and staff have left for the team hotel at Pennyhill Park. The room is dimly lit, shadows dancing against the wall. Bits of tape are strewn across the floor, the debris of a match that finished hours ago. Alone, lying on a bench, is Stuart Lancaster, eyes staring at the ceiling.

The evening has been a blur. It was obvious that England would be eliminated from the World Cup at the pool stage against Australia when Owen Farrell was sent to the sin-bin ten minutes before the end. Lancaster, the head coach, the man who had spent a lifetime dreaming of this opportunity, tried to retain his composure