England's fallen heroes praised in defeat

By Martyn Herman

LONDON (Reuters) - England's shattered World Cup dreams were plastered all over the newspapers on Sunday as the nation handled sporting grief with a stiff upper lip.

After the vicious criticism of the nation's football team following defeat in Russia, the reaction to the rugby side's 15-6 defeat by South Africa in Paris was one of saluting a team of heroes who had fallen valiantly at the final hurdle.

The Sunday Telegraph's front page featured a full-page photograph of a despondent Jonny Wilkinson emblazoned with the headline "Heartbreak" -- a word used liberally.

Incredibly the first five pages of the Telegraph's news section were devoted to events in Paris, with the inside page stating: "Agony then tears as England's brave warriors fall at the last" next to various photographs of Prince William and Prince Harry, who were watching in the Stade de France.

The sports pages focussed on Mark Cueto's second-half try that was disallowed by the video referee.

"Killer Touch" said the Sunday Times with a photograph of Cueto diving over the line.

A series of photos at the bottom of the page shows his foot touching the sideline before he grounded the ball.

"The hearts of the white lions were finally broken in the Stade de France last night," said its main story.