The UK rugby team's new anthem

Ben Macintyre tells us that "The old Kenny Rogers [US country singer] hit, 'The Gambler', has become the unofficial anthem of the rugby World Cup: 'You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, Know when to walk away and know when to run'. ... The Gambler is, of course, corny, sentimental and faintly embarrassing, but also, like much American country music (or country and western, as it used to be called), it is uplifting in an uncomplicated, entertaining and immediately memorable way. Rogers's ballad tells the story of a young man down on his luck, 'out of aces' and reduced to his last swallow of whiskey, who finds inspiration in the advice of a dying gambler. It is about picking yourself up when you have been hammered, and the importance of changing tactics. No wonder the England team have adopted it, as abject defeat has been transformed into the prospect of World Cup victory."

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Sport, » United Kingdom
All available articles from » Ben Macintyre

» To the complete press review of Friday, October 19, 2007