What rugby can teach football...

If you want an example of how to react to adversity, it doesn't come in much clearer terms. From the humiliation of a 36-0 defeat by South Africa to the jubilation of a thrilling victory over Australia, they've shown what can be achieved when you keep your belief and apply it with attitude.

The fight, determination and passion they showed has swept the country along and they deserve the plaudits. As a nation, we take great pride in our bulldog spirit and we love nothing more than to see a performance like England's in Marseille.

Rugby is capturing headlines again and football should not shy away in learning from it.

I don't believe there is greater unity in the England rugby team than in Steve McClaren's football team, or greater pride, but there is a public show of emotion, particularly when you see Lawrence Dallaglio and his team-mates belting out the national anthem, which our top players should take on board.

Personally, I always wanted to show my patriotism as did the likes of Terry Butcher or Paul Ince. We didn't hide it. Nor do John Terry, Steven Gerrard or David Beckham.

But some footballers go into their own zone, stay quiet, listen to the crowd and get a lift from that. It doesn't mean they don't care, they just deal with it differently.

But, because of the money some players are paid, that question: 'Do you really care?' always crops up if your emotions aren't etched all over your face or your performance. There's a lot to be said for letting the fans know how much it means to you.

Rugby players have an advantage because their game is so physical they can show their aggression and what the game means to them from the start.

But that's also an aspect we should embrace: rugby can teach football a great deal in terms of players' reactions to tackles — during a weekend of intense, physical matches you never saw a player whingeing, however big the hit they had to take — and their respect for referees.

We always say football is a man's game, but the way some players go down these days doesn't do much for the sport's reputation.

I can remember dislocating my shoulder for England in the build-up to the Mexico World Cup and then popping it back in myself. I probably didn't do myself too many favours, but I was desperate to carry on playing for my country and certainly didn't want to miss the World Cup. The same applied to Butcher — you'd often see him with a bloodied face.

Now players fall over with the slightest touch. If they did that in rugby they'd be laughed at.

Referees always deserve respect and rugby works well because the players have been brought up knowing that if they contest anything, they lose 10 yards. Similar respect for football referees needs to be re-established.

Another thing I admire in rugby is the use of a TV ref for the defining decisions. I've always been an advocate of that in football — if only for penalty decisions.

Critics argue it would slow the game down but the spectacle isn't ruined. The fans love the heightened tension and, when the decision comes, you know it is delivered honestly and not in the heat of the moment. Football has to adopt video technology.

So, after a great weekend of rugby which can teach us much and an England performance to admire, it's now up to our footballers to restore the feel-good factor in their game.