Are England Rugby Players More Patriotic Than the Footballers?

Watching the France versus England match from the Rugby World Cup this past weekend, one observation which stuck out in my head was how the England rugby players sang the national anthem (“God Save The Queen”) loudly with passion and feeling.

Contrast that with the England football team and most of the players, if they even bother to sing the song, mumble the words with practically closed mouths.

Some may argue it’s because the England football players are overpaid. But thinking back to previous England teams (even before the amount of money flooded into the game), I can’t remember an England national football team that sang the anthem with pride.