World Cup semis highlight diminishing north-south divide

Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup - England Training - Arcs Urayasu Park, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan - October 23, 2019 England's Elliot Daly and Owen Farrell during training REUTERS/Peter Cziborra

TOKYO (Reuters) - At the last Rugby World Cup in 2015, the southern hemisphere nations highlighted a gap with their northern counterparts after none of the Six Nations teams advanced to the semi-finals for the first time.

In England four years ago, the southern hemisphere sides simply played at a faster pace across the park and their skill execution under pressure was at a much higher level.