NICK CAIN
READ HIS EXPERT OPINION EVERY WEEK

One of the great joys of World Cups is the platform that gives for us to discover brilliant players from around the world who, until they got a chance on the global stage, were unknown outside their own backyards. The 2023 tournament in France is no exception.
Let’s start with Manuel Ardao, the Uruguayan openside flanker. Ardao is a similar size, at 5ft 8ins and a stocky 14st 4lbs/92kg, to England’s great 2003 world champion openside flanker Neil Back, and on the evidence against the Italians there is no one in recent times who is as complete ...