Leaving Leicester's Welford Road off list of World Cup 2015 venues is PR gaffe of significant proportions Now, it can be argued that by opting for larger capacity football stadiums the organisers are intent on opening up the tournament to as many supporters as possible. More seats, more tickets, more people. There is merit in that. But there also needs to be a pledge that these grounds will be far more than a mere backdrop to the action. They have to be imbued with a sense of what the sport is about and not just be a preening full-house decoration for the TV cameras. There are only two bona-fide English rugby grounds on that list, Kingsholm and Twickenham. Look out, Glaws, they will be coming for you next, what with your tinny little Shed, and your insistence on having a few beers at the ground, and singing your songs. What do you think this is supposed to be - a festival of rugby? Welford Road has a rich association with the sport. Its walls breathe rugby, its presence is an indelible part of rugby folklore with tales told of warriors such as Peter Wheeler, Deano, Martin Johnson, Neil Back, Martin Corry and the ABC front-row or fleet-footed stars such as Paul Dodge, the Underwoods, Les Cusworth and Clive Woodward. Former coach "Chalky" White is one of the greatest thinkers the game has ever known. And what of the Christmas Barbarians fixture at Welford Road? What a jamboree that used to be. You wipe the slate of these memories at your peril. Of course, England Rugby 2015 will imbue the stadiums that do make the cut with its own feel-good sense of fun, deck them out with a rugby feel. You do not doubt them on that front. But it will not be the same without Welford Road, a ground that you know would take a team to its bosom as well as embrace the whole feel of a World Cup. New Zealand showed that small could be beautiful. Appropriately enough, given how much in hock it is to football, RWC 2015 has scored a monumental own goal. Exeter forced out of the closet There was dark-humoured giggling when Exeter were drawn in the dreaded Heineken Cup "Group of Death" alongside defending champions, Leinster, and last year's semi-finalists, French powerhouse Clermont Auvergne, with the one-time standard-bearers of the Wales cause, Llanelli Scarlets, in for good measure, too. That will sort out the Heineken Cup newcomers, we thought. The tournament will be good for the experience but chastening. Well, no-one is giggling any more. Exeter can kid us no longer. Their five try-demolition of English champions Harlequins on Saturday has blown their cover. Exeter have been forced out of the closet, revealed as arch pretenders, not country bumpkins at all. We patronised them by emphasising their virtues, their reliance on clichéd notions of togetherness and old-school toughness to get them through, supposedly leaving all notions of intricacy and cleverness to more sophisticated clubs. As the rows rage in Rome as to whether the format should be changed to make it more meritocratic, there is no disputing Exeter's right to be there among the European elite. Exeter have shown themselves to be far more than a tight-knit band of brothers, upstarts among the pampered Premiership high-rollers. They are the second highest points scorers in the league this season, trailing only Harlequins. Exeter made the champs look like chumps. Slick, bold, abrasive, polished - there was nothing remotely agricultural about Exeter's approach. They will certainly not be tip-toeing into this Heineken Cup content only to make up the numbers, retreating to the West Country with a grateful tug of the forelock. One of the keys to Exeter's success has been the way in which they have embraced challenges. They have run towards the sound of the guns rather than away from it. Right from their first weekend in the Premiership two years ago, head coach Rob Baxter showed not a flicker of anxiety about what lay ahead. "Worried?" he was asked prior to that first campaign. I'm excited. Long before the draw for this season's Heineken Cup was made, Baxter had one hope: "Give us the Group of Death. There's no running away from things here. Wish granted, defiance noted. Exeter mean business. Who is the greatest of them all? The All Blacks captain, Richie McCaw, celebrated his 100th Test victory on Saturday. The greatest ever flanker, the greatest ever captain? Very good questions.