England hooker Mark Regan was at his combative best, and he was not packing down against the South Africans. Instead he was taking a swipe at teammate Lawrence Dallaglio, who he said had 'lost the plot' in a bid to rake in the shekels.
Regan dismissed Dallaglio's claim that England were like a 'pub team' at the Rugby World Cup, saying that it was just a marketing ploy by the backrower to sell his new autobiography.
'If you want real stories, I got loads of them. But to say that we were like a pub team, and accuse Brian [England coach Ashton] of not having the skills for the job is rubbish,' Regan said.
'Maybe we bonded like a pub team, especially after our first loss to South Africa in the pool game, but to imply that we had all the organisational skills of a pub team was untrue. It was just a gimmick by Dallaglio to sell his new book,' he said.
The Bristol front-rower, who came out of international retirement earlier this year and became the number one choice for hooker at the World Cup, was in Hong Kong for the annual Sevens Long Lunch.
And even though a fortnight had passed since South Africa defeated England to win the World Cup at the Stade de France, the disappointment is still crystal clear in his mind.
