The Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder, the two 1-seeds in the 2024 NBA playoffs, both have 1-0 leads in their respective first-round series, but that's just about where the similarities end.

Boston handled its business against the Miami Heat from the jump in Game 1, winning in a 114-94 rout. Meanwhile the Thunder didn't secure their Game 1 win against the New Orleans Pelicans until CJ McCollum's last-second 3-pointer bounced off the back rim.

The two 1 vs. 8 series resume Wednesday night, and our NBA insiders took a look at the biggest storylines for each team heading into Game 2.

MORE: Complete coverage of 2024 NBA playoffs

Celtics don't want to let up

After Tuesday's practice, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla fielded a question: When you looked at tape of Game 1, what, if anything, did you realize could be done better?

"Better is doing what we [already] do with higher intensity and higher physicality," Mazzulla said.

It was a telling answer, and an honest one.

The Celtics were dominant in their series opener against No. 8 seed Miami, jumping out to a 14-point lead before the Heat even managed to score and ultimately winning by 20. After a performance like that, there really isn't a change in strategy that's necessary at the moment.

Mazzulla and the players instead spent time talking about the mentality that will be necessary to make sure they maintain this level after the breezy Game 1.

"If you don't think you're going to see a different version of Miami, you're kidding yourself," Mazzulla said.

The Heat stated the obvious during their practice, saying they'd seek to trim the vast 3-point deficit that took place in Game 1 -- Boston tied a franchise playoff high with 22 made 3s. So the Celtics vowed to be ready to take advantage of whatever good looks came their way as a result, be it from the paint or the midrange portions of the floor.

Generally speaking, though, what Boston is gearing up for is a more intense Miami club.

"They're going to be hungry [and] desperate," Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown said. "They're going to come out fast and aggressive, trying to turn us over. They're going to try to crash the glass hard and be physical, knock us to the ground. They're going to want to win the physicality battle."

Brown and guard Payton Pritchard each said forward Caleb Martin's late-game, midair collision with forward Jayson Tatum -- which caused a brief skirmish and double technical fouls -- might have been a good thing.

The incident appeared to invigorate the Celtics at a time when they had taken their foot off the pedal ever so slightly after building a 34-point advantage earlier in the contest. "I think we like that," Pritchard said. "It was a joy to see that, and what it's going to be like moving forward. We're ready for that test and that physicality." -- Chris Herring

Heat lack firepower to meet championship aspirations

The hallway wall outside of the home locker room inside Kaseya Center is decorated with a colorful montage of some of the greatest moments in Heat franchise history. There are dozens of pictures from the three championship celebrations. There's a wall-sized image of Dwyane Wade shooting a floater over Tim Duncan during the 2013 NBA Finals. There's another image of Ray Allen shooting the corner 3-pointer that tied Game 6 of the 2013 Finals.

And, in the middle of it, the word "CHAMPIONS" is emblazoned on the wall, the three years the Heat reached the pinnacle of the NBA -- 2006, 2012 and 2013 -- written out below it.

It's an ever-present reminder for those who walk through there -- be it players, coaches, media, staffers or anyone else -- that there has only been one mission statement for this franchise since the moment team president Pat Riley set foot in South Florida nearly 30 years ago.

And, despite the Heat's recent track record, it's also one this group isn't going to be able to reach.

In the weeks leading up to the playoffs, any coach, scout or executive asked about the Heat's chances wasn't ready to count them out, pointing to Miami advancing to three conference finals and two NBA Finals across the previous four years with most of this core -- specifically, forward Jimmy Butler -- in place.

But Butler isn't on the court, as an MCL sprain suffered a week ago in Miami's heartbreaking loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the play-in tournament knocked him out of the series. Shooting guard Terry Rozier, the team's top acquisition ahead of the trade deadline, is also out of the lineup with a neck issue and also seems unlikely to play.

Game 1 showed how big of a challenge it will be for Miami to make this series competitive against the team with the NBA's best record. The Celtics simply have too much firepower for the Heat to keep up with, especially down two key contributors.

Soon, the series will be over, and the questions about this team's future will resurface. With only one guaranteed year left on his contract, will Butler get an extension -- and what will happen if he doesn't? And, setting that aside, what can Miami do to boost an offense that ranked 21st in the NBA this season?

One thing is for certain: The Heat will make no excuses as this series continues, and coach Erik Spoelstra will say he has enough to compete. But without Butler and Rozier, an already uphill climb has become an impossible one. -- Tim Bontemps

Thunder's deep rotation still in flux

As the top-seeded Thunder begin what they hope will be a long playoff run, the most interesting question is how Coach of the Year finalist Mark Daigneault's rotation will shake out.

Daigneault used 11 players in Sunday's Game 1 win, the most of any team in a competitive game. That largely mirrored Daigneault's regular-season rotation, which has included six reserves after the addition of veteran forward Gordon Hayward at the trade deadline.

"Everybody that came in played their role," guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after Game 1. "They gave good minutes. All 11 guys did their part, and that's the reason why we won tonight."

Most notable, however, was the absence of starting guard Josh Giddey at the end of Oklahoma City's 94-92 win. Giddey played just 20 minutes on a night when every other starter logged at least 32.

Giddey's inconsistent outside shooting (34% on 3-pointers this season) has always loomed as a potential playoff liability for the Thunder. Despite starting all 80 games he has played, Giddey saw his minutes per game drop from 31.1 in 2022-23 to 25.1 this season. That decline was magnified late in games, as Giddey played just 47% of what NBA Advanced Stats defines as clutch minutes (game within five points, last five minutes of regulation or overtime) -- down from 69% a year ago.

Besides Giddey's own limitations, the development of rookie guard Cason Wallace has given Daigneault an alternative down the stretch. The 20-year-old played the bulk of the last four minutes Sunday, trading off with the team's best shooter, Isaiah Joe. Wallace matched up with Pelicans guard McCollum on the game's final possession, forcing McCollum into an off-balance missed 3 at the buzzer.

As long as Oklahoma City is winning, Daigneault might not want to mess with the formula that led the Thunder to the best record in the Western Conference this season. Oklahoma City's typical starting five featuring Giddey went 46-17 (.730) in the regular season -- nine more wins than any other group of starters, per Basketball-Reference.com data.

Down the road, however, replacing Giddey might be the Thunder's natural adjustment when something goes wrong. -- Kevin Pelton

Pelicans searching for more offense

New Orleans held the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference to 94 points in Game 1. As Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. pointed out Tuesday after practice, that should be enough for a team to get a victory. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, it wasn't.

Thanks in large part to the defense guard Luguentz Dort played on forward Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans forward went 5-of-17 for just 12 points Sunday night, and the Pelicans offense never seemed to get going in the two-point loss.

Nance said the team has a few tricks up its sleeve to get the offense going, but it's clear something will have to happen.

The Pelicans got 24 points off 18 offensive rebounds, going 9-of-17 off the second chances. But the team shot 28-of-79 (35.4%) on its initial shot attempts, a number that needs to improve. Oklahoma City also outscored the Pelicans 20-7 in fast-break points.

Both were points of emphasis in Tuesday's practice, according to Pelicans coach Willie Green.

"We really looked at some of our keys, keeping them out of transition defensively and making sure we finish possessions," Green said. "I thought the second half they made a better effort to go after the offensive glass. ... We had a really good practice today."

In four games since returning from a bone bruise in his left knee, Ingram has averaged 15.0 points on 43.1% shooting. He was 0-of-8 when Dort was the primary defender, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Green said the team has to play with more speed and force so that Dort can't be as physical with Ingram as he was in Game 1. The Pelicans also need to get more screens set for Ingram, Green said, to try to free him up.

New Orleans will have to continue to improve its clutch offense to have a chance to steal a game before heading home for Game 3. The Pelicans were 0-22 in the regular season entering the fourth quarter with a deficit, and their 29 games in the clutch were the fewest in the NBA this season.

In Game 1, the Pelicans were 1-of-7 with four turnovers in the final 3:09 and didn't score a bucket between the 3:34 mark and when McCollum hit a layup with 26.5 seconds left.

New Orleans will also have to adjust to how the game is being called. The Pelicans attempted nine free throws Sunday, the fewest they had attempted in any game this season. They also held the Thunder to just 13 attempts, tied for the fifth fewest for them in a game all season.

"Oh, this is basketball," Nance said. "Last game, it took me a half to figure out what are they going to call, what aren't they going to call, what are they going to let go. And in the second half it was football. And I love it." -- Andrew Lopez

The Toronto Blue Jays placed outfielder Kevin Kiermaier on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with left hip flexor inflammation.

In a corresponding move, the Blue Jays called up their No. 6 prospect, Addison Barger. Barger, 24, is expected to be active for Wednesday's game against the Kansas City Royals.

Kiermaier left Tuesday night's loss to the Royals in the sixth inning and was replaced in the lineup by Cavan Biggio. Daulton Varsho replaced Kiermaier in center field. Kiermaier was 0-for-2 with a sac bunt.

Kiermaier, who just turned 34 on Monday, is batting .193 with five runs scored. He's a career .249 hitter with 90 home runs and 128 stolen bases. He's a four-time Gold Glove winner.

Barger's first game will mark his major league debut. The Jays' sixth-round pick in 2018 is batting .314 with three HRs and 21 RBIs in 19 games at Triple-A Buffalo.

The San Francisco Giants scratched left-hander Blake Snell from his scheduled start Wednesday and placed the two-time Cy Young Award winner on the 15-day injured list with a left adductor strain.

Right-hander Landen Roupp was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento by the Giants, who tabbed right-hander Ryan Walker (2-2, 3.46 ERA) to make his first start of the season Wednesday against the visiting New York Mets.

Walker, 28, worked a scoreless inning of relief in San Francisco's 5-2 win over New York on Monday.

Snell, 31, is 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA in three starts. He has yet to recapture the form that allowed him to secure his second Cy Young Award while pitching for the San Diego Padres in 2023.

Snell owns a 71-58 record with a 3.30 ERA in 194 career games (all starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays, Padres and Giants.

Roupp, 25, has registered a 4.35 ERA without recording a decision in eight relief appearances this season with San Francisco.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker has been demoted to the minor leagues after a slow start to the season.

The Cardinals announced before Wednesday afternoon's victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks that Walker and left-handed pitcher Zack Thompson were optioned to Triple-A Memphis. Infielder Jose Fermin and left-hander John King were recalled from Memphis in corresponding moves.

Walker, 21, is batting .155 with no home runs, 4 RBIs and a .497 OPS in 20 games this season, his second with the Cardinals. The former top prospect had been mired in a 3-for-27 slump over his past 11 games.

The 6-foot-6 Walker is one of several players struggling offensively for the Cardinals (10-14), who entered Wednesday with just 16 homers as a team -- second worst in the majors behind only the Chicago White Sox -- and rank in the bottom five in MLB in most major categories, including batting average (.218), runs (82), slugging percentage (.336) and OPS (.637).

Walker entered 2023 as a consensus top-five overall prospect and delivered a solid rookie season, batting .276 with 16 homers, 51 RBIs and a .787 OPS.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger has two fractured ribs and is heading to the injured list, manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday.

Bellinger, a two-time All-Star selection, crashed into the center-field wall during Tuesday's game while tracking a fly ball hit by Houston's Yainer Diaz that went for a double and scored Kyle Tucker. He left the game an inning later.

Counsell said after Tuesday's game that the X-rays on Bellinger were clean, but an MRI on Wednesday revealed the injury. A timeframe of his return in unclear, Counsell said.

In a corresponding move, the Cubs called up Pete Crow-Armstrong, their top prospect.

Bellinger, in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak, is batting .226 with five home runs and 17 RBIs.

Crow-Armstrong, 22, made his MLB debut last September and went 0-for-14 with three walks. He's batting .203 with two home runs, five doubles and seven RBIs at Triple-A Iowa this season.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

As the 2024 season nears its one-month mark, the Kansas City Royals -- the team that matched a franchise record with 106 losses last year -- are not only on the right side of .500, but feature one of the best run differentials in baseball.

To better understand where they are, let's try to understand where they were -- merely a few months ago, at the end of a disastrous 2023 season. If Kansas City were in the early stages of a rebuild, it might not be fair to label that as a disaster. But the current rebuild can be traced to at least 2018, as the back-to-back pennant winners of the last decade were gradually dissolved. Six years down the line, you expect a team in rebuild mode to be emerging, not bottoming out. So, yes, that's a disaster.

Even worse: In ESPN's Kiley McDaniel's preseason farm system rankings over the past three years, the Royals have finished 12th, 28th and 26th, respectively. And in McDaniel's prospect rankings for 2024, they failed to land a single prospect in the top 100.

None of this reads like the resume of a breakout team, but check out the current standings -- the Royals have a winning percentage in the top 10 of the majors.

The obvious conclusion is that it's a fluke. This happens almost every season. Some team emerges from the ether, inspiring a spate of "are they for real" analysis. (Like this one.) At the end of April last year, the Pirates had the best record in the National League with a run differential that justified that mark. They finished 10 games under .500.

The Royals have occupied an early spring "if the season ended today" playoff slot for most of the schedule to date. It's been a surprising run and an enjoyable run. The question is whether it's going to be a long run.

If the Royals' strong start turns into a season-long push for the playoffs, the beginning of that quest will be traced to the organization's decision to actually try this past winter. That might seem like a no-brainer, but when you look at the team-by-team behavior in the recent hot stove marketplace, it's not something that fans can take for granted.

According to Spotrac, the Royals ranked sixth in free agent spending this offseason, committing more than $110 million to eight free agents: pitchers Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Chris Stratton and Will Smith, and hitters Adam Frazier, Hunter Renfroe, Garrett Hampson and Austin Nola.

It's not a group of stars but, highlighted by veteran starters Lugo and Wacha, it's a group of eight players with recognizable names and a good amount of big league success behind them.

"Everything in this game starts and ends with starting pitching," Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. "That was clearly the No. 1 objective, trying to secure two starting pitchers."

Many were surprised to see a team like the Royals, one of four that lost more than 100 games in 2023, go on a spending spree during an offseason in which a number of not just winning clubs, but playoff clubs -- most notably the reigning World Series champion Rangers -- didn't.

However, one thing to understand is that the Royals, as bad as they were in 2023, probably weren't 106-loss bad in terms of true talent level. According to their run differential, they were more of a 98-loss team. Coming into last season, their consensus over/under was around 70 wins, marking them as 92-loss bad.

As miserable as last season was, they did post a .423 winning percentage during the second half (a 68-win pace), as they went 15-12 after Sept. 1 and finished on a 12-5 sprint.

These are not exactly shining beacons of hope, but they are data points that improve the baseline from which the Royals were building entering 2024, allowing the team to reframe the way it viewed itself. Statistically, even without change, they would have projected to be better. That in itself justifies a measure of offseason aggression, but it was bolstered by the state of their division and some general payroll retrenchment in their economic tier, which created opportunities that multiplied as the Royals' interest to add circulated in free agent circles.

"I thought we were going to end up trading for a starting pitcher and it just didn't evolve. The opportunity wasn't there," Picollo said. "But we had done our work from early in June and knew who the free agents would be and how we could put together a rotation that would be competitive again."

A 70-win baseline, considered in the context of an American League Central landscape that might not yield a 90-win team, is a glimmer of hope. It's scalable. It allows a GM to go to ownership with a plan to shore up the roster with targeted additions, rather than a plan to blow up everything and begin again from scratch.

Luckily for Picollo, owner John Sherman was on board with the patching approach even though the Royals were one of the teams affected by the ongoing RSN crisis around the game.

"He wasn't overly concerned about where he feels like the long-term prognosis of where this may go," Picollo said. "In short term, he said go ahead and do what you got to do. Which was nice to hear. This is his fifth season as the owner, and we haven't had good seasons. I think his desire to win was very evident, very supportive."

The key to the Royals' start has been pitching, especially from what arguably has been baseball's most consistent rotation. Kansas City ranks third in quality starts, fifth in overall ERA and fourth in rotation ERA.

The quintet of Wacha, Lugo, Brady Singer, Alec Marsh and Cole Ragans rank second in MLB in innings per start. And yet the Royals are one of just three teams without a single hurler who has thrown at least 100 pitches in a game -- showing that their efficiency has come as a group, not just from one or two sudden spikes.

The driving force for the unit has been a renewed focus on throwing strikes while keeping the ball down in the zone. The Kansas City rotation ranks 10th in strike percentage -- up from 17th last season -- and third in pitches classified as low, according to TruMedia.

"You're constantly watching and see how guys are attacking hitters and what sequences they are using," Lugo said. "You know what happens when you make quality pitches in the strike zone. It kind of feeds along the whole staff."

This approach runs counter to the strategy of some teams, like the ever-progressive Tampa Bay Rays, who attack the top of the zone with high-spin fastballs. But even if the Royals' collective approach doesn't exactly ride the wave of current trends, it is a classic formula: Pound the zone, work quickly, let your athletes shine on defense.

So far, it's paid off. Royals pitchers rank just 24th in strikeout rate but are 10th in walk rate and fifth in home run rate. Meanwhile, the defense behind them that rates among the best in MLB in defensive runs saved and the infield leads all teams in out percentage on groundballs.

"Pitching and defense, right, the old adage," manager Matt Quatraro said. "If you're throwing a lot of strikes, your defense is on their toes. And especially the closer the games are, the more heightened your awareness is. And I think that's definitely something that's building."

The ability to capitalize on overlooked talent from other teams through analytics-based optimization might be a burgeoning trait in the Royals' organization. We would need to see more of this to place Kansas City in the same category as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Rays and a handful of other teams. But there have been a couple of key recent success stories.

Last year, Picollo was able to turn a low-risk flier on veteran reliever Aroldis Chapman into the in-season trade that brought back Cole Ragans from Texas. Ragans has been a different, more dominant pitcher for the Royals since being acquired, an emerging ace with stuff so fierce that he's been likened to Jacob deGrom.

Ragans isn't the only positive development in the second-chance marketplace. A year ago, reliever James McArthur was a nondescript, former 12th-round pick of the Phillies. He was acquired in a low-level trade last May after Philadelphia designated him for assignment. At that point, McArthur was 26 years old and had just 16 innings above Double-A, during which he posted a 7.31 ERA.

Now, McArthur is the Royals' closer. He's saved nine games, including five this season, and has a 35:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

"The process to acquire [McArthur] was great," Quatraro said. "A lot of input from a lot of different people in the pitching department, the front office, the collaboration to see what they thought he could become. And then once we acquired him, the tweaks to the usage and the grips, and the things in pitch design.

"That part of it is really exciting because that shows a lot of work within different departments to find a diamond in the rough."

Quatraro, who was hired as manager following the 2022 season, has played a key role in the Royals' big league development, adding perspective that he and pitching coach Brian Sweeney internalized from their previous stops in Tampa Bay and Cleveland, respectively. It was a needed element of progressiveness for the Royals, who have typically been run along traditional scouting-and-development lines.

"They represented something different than I had been around in the past," Picollo said. "(There are) more objective decisions being made, more reliant on data. It was really evident to us in spring training that we were going to have to really beef up our [analytical] department to keep up with what their demands were. And it was somewhat uncomfortable at times, but the way Q works and the way he communicates made it easier to digest."

This bodes well for the Royals as they wade into the roster churn that always happens around MLB as the schedule progresses. All it takes is two or three of these success stories per season to bolster the depth of an organization, helping fill gaps while the minor league system ramps back up to speed.

"This is a good group of young guys that are really good at baseball," said reliever Will Smith, who has been a member of MLB's past three World Series champions and broke into the majors with the Royals in 2012. "J.J. and the front office did a great job of bringing in some vets that have had success in the big leagues before, just trying to teach these young guys how to be winners. It's been fun so far."

The Royals' individual leader in defensive runs saved is Bobby Witt Jr. This greatly enhanced aspect of his game can sometimes be overshadowed by his offensive prowess, which went to another level during the second half of 2023 -- and stayed there.

"Bobby is really driven and wants to learn. He's very coachable," Picollo said. "I think he's just scratching the surface what he's going to do."

From Witt's debut in 2022 through July 27 of last season, his .724 OPS ranked 145th among 263 hitters with at least 500 plate appearances. Since then, his .956 OPS ranks 11th and he's in the top 20 in hits, runs, RBIs, average, slugging and stolen bases. And he's still only 23 years old.

"(The improvement) was just becoming prepared as much as possible each and every day," Witt said. "Knowing that there's more than just being ready at game time. You've got to make sure your body is right for each and every game. You've got to make sure your preparation is right."

If it sounds simple, that's no accident. Witt, whose natural, eye-popping gifts are apparent in almost every game he plays, nevertheless had an early tendency to try to do too much -- at the plate, in the field and on the bases. Now he operates by a mantra he's famously sketched onto the equipment he uses in games: simple.

"I feel like I'm at that point where I just really try to control what I can control," Witt said. "Just go out to the field and take things pitch by pitch and not worry about the results."

Witt's stunning transmogrification from potential superstar to actual superstar is what sets this current Royals feel-good start into one where you can't help but stroke your chin plaintively as you ponder the possibilities. That's what the impact of one transcendent star can do.

Think of it like this: Let's say that Picollo's offseason overhaul of the team's personnel and the developing strategy on the run-prevention side brings the non-Witt portion of the Kansas City roster to .500. A player putting up numbers like Witt on both sides of the ball is an MVP candidate, one worth anywhere from five to six wins above average in the bWAR framework. (Witt currently leads all AL position players in bWAR).

A player at six wins above average pushes the profile of an 81-81 team to 87-75. In the AL Central, that's contention. And that's the approach in K.C. -- shore up the holes on the dossier to stabilize the baseline, and hope the upside is provided by Witt and the roster's other most talented youngsters like Vinnie Pasquantino, M.J. Melendez, Maikel Garcia and Ragans.

All of this is a little cold, though, because Witt's rise is so much more to the Royals than a WAR total. He is the face of pretty much everything the franchise is trying to do, whether it's returning to contention or the field or stabilizing the franchise's future with the downtown ballpark the Royals still hope to get built within the next few years. That's saying something given the ongoing presence and production of (possible) future Hall of Famer Salvador Perez, the last remaining link to the Royals' 2015 champions.

"[Witt's] really special," Picollo said. "His tools, his ability to take in information and make adjustments along the way just stood out for us. He's going to continue to get better and better. I don't think he's going to hit his prime until he's 27, 28 -- and he's really, really good right now."

And Witt will be with the Royals for those peak years, as he agreed to a complicated 11-year, $288.8 million extension over the winter. While the deal has opt-outs that could shorten it or extend it to as long as 14 years, even in its most basic form it ensures he will remain with the Royals for the foreseeable future and into his free agent window. Witt is the cornerstone player the Royals hoped he would be and he seems intent on becoming to the Royals what Patrick Mahomes has become to the Chiefs on the other end of the Truman Sports Complex.

"He wanted to know from us that we were committed financially to putting a good team on the field," Picollo said. "Now we're still small market, we've still got to be dependent on draft and player development and all those things. But I think in the future, because Bobby's on the team that's going to help us secure some players."

When you are looking for clues about how sustainable the Royals' early-season play might be, Witt is where you start. He's really this good, and he's not going anywhere. It all makes what the Royals are doing now feel more solid.

As for other hints of sustainability, the picture is less clear.

If you've watched the Royals on a regular basis this season, there are lots of reasons to be encouraged. They've won more than they've lost. They've often played well in their losses, which is one reason why their run differential actually marks them as unlucky in the win-loss column.

Through it all, there's one thought that you can't escape: This team lost 106 games last season, a .346 winning percentage.

During the modern era (since 1900), there have been 103 teams with winning percentages that low, not including the Royals and the Athletics last season. Only eight finished .500 or better the following season: Phillies (1904-05), Cardinals (1913-14), Pirates (1917-18), Athletics (1946-47), Phillies (again, 1961-62), Athletics (again, 1979-80), Orioles (1988-89) and, most recently, the Orioles again (2021-22). The high-water mark for those teams was 87 wins by the '89 Orioles.

So, yeah, we're saying there's a chance the Royals have a winning season in 2024, but the history against that scale of improvement is daunting. If they are to overcome that history, a few things have to happen.

This trick of holding down opponents without an elite strikeout rate is going to have to hold up, at least to some extent. Can it?

According to Fangraphs, the Royals' team strikeout rate is 87% of the MLB average, ranking 28th. Since 2015, there have been just 22 teams with relative strikeout rates that low. Just four of those 22 finished with park-adjusted staff ERAs better than league average: the Cardinals (2021 and 2022), 2017 Rangers and 2015 Twins. Those four teams were a combined 2.2% better than league average. The Royals' current park-adjusted ERA is 18% better than average.

That's not very likely to hold up, especially as the weather warms and home run rates rise. The Royals have allowed homers on just 6.8% of their fly balls so far (third lowest in baseball); the MLB average is 7.9. That's another number that just won't hold up for them, but that doesn't mean it has to collapse, especially if Kauffman Stadium plays big as it often does.

In both areas -- walks allowed and dingers -- the Royals will need to support the staff with top-of-the-charts defense, which the infield has provided but the outfield will need to match that over the long haul. Of course, that's the way the team is designed -- elite defense has been the backbone of every contending team Kansas City has had.

Finally, the Royals will need exceedingly good health. It's not a deep organization at the upper minor league levels and, so far, the depth has not been tested. They did not change their Opening Day roster until last week, when they needed a 27th man for a doubleheader against the White Sox.

The good early health has been a boon but no one gets through a season unscathed. The Royals won't go through the schedule with that core five-man rotation. They will also need way more relievers than the nine who have played so far.

That's a lot of things that need to keep working in their favor. Still, focusing on that is really beside the point. The real point is that who would have thought, given where last season ended, that we'd even be doing this kind of deep dive into this franchise a mere few months later.

Great defense that supports a consistent pitching staff of strike throwers, good health, an MVP run by Witt -- these things are all within the realm of reasonable possibility. And given the state of their division and what we've seen of the Royals, the stakes of these developments might actually matter.

They have rekindled the enthusiasm of a fan base always ready to explode when given the slightest reason to do so. By adding at a time when it didn't seem to make sense, Kansas City has laid a platform on which possibility can be given a chance. It's amazing the message that is sent when a team actually tries.

"It was just huge," Witt said. "The veteran leadership we have now with the guys that we signed, and the core group of young guys that we have now coming into themselves. We knew we had this talent the whole time. And now we're putting it all together."

We list the leading athletes in the shot put, discus, hammer and javelin throughout history

10 Nick Miller

During his 2018 Commonwealth win, Miller achieved Britains only 80-metre hammer throw (80.26m) to date. He retained his title in 2022 and also achieved top six placings in the 2017 World Championships and 2021 Olympics.

9 Bob Weir

Won Commonwealth hammer gold in 1982 but switched to the discus, winning Commonwealth gold in 1998, as well as bronze in 1994 and 2002.

Weir competed in three Olympics, with a best showing of eighth in the hammer in 1984, while he matched that position in the discus at the 1997 World Championships.

8 Sophie Hitchon

The former world under-20 and European under-23 champion retired in her mid-20s, but  won Olympic bronze in Rio with a British record 74.54m and also made the top eight in both the 2015 and 2017 World Championships. There was a Commonwealth bronze, too, as well as three European finals.

7 Mick Hill

Overshadowed by his friend and training partner Steve Backley, he still had his successes, winning a world bronze he contested six world finals a European silver and four Commonwealth medals. Hill competed in four Olympics and made the final three times, with a best of 11th.

6 Judy Oakes

The UK record-holder won European indoor shot put bronze early on in her long career and her domestic dominance was unparalleled, winning 35 national titles. She also won six Commonwealth medals, including three golds and competed in four Olympics (coming fourth in 1984). Including indoors, she competed in eight world championships and achieved three top ten placings. She won Britains Strongest Woman title in 1983 and went on to become a world powerlifting champion.

5 Arthur Rowe

He won European and Commonwealth shot put gold in 1958 and, but for illness in qualifying, he should have challenged for medals at the 1960 Olympics. In 1961 he was unbeaten and threw a European record 19.56m but in 1962 he gave up his amateur status to play Rugby League.

4 Geoff Capes

Though he won Commonwealth gold in 1974 and 1978, his best results came at the European Indoors, where he won two golds, three silvers and a bronze between 1974 and 1979. Outdoors he won European bronze and had two Olympic top six places but is best known for dominating Worlds Strongest Man contests.

3 Tessa Sanderson

The pinnacle of a long, successful career was her 69.56m victory at the Los Angeles Olympics. She also won three Commonwealth golds (1978, 1986 and 1990) and a European silver. Sanderson competed in six Olympics and three World Championships but 1984 aside, coming fourth in global championships three times.

2 Fatima Whitbread

Best known for breaking the world record in European qualifying in 1986 (going on to win the gold) and a world title in 1987. Whitbread backed that up with an Olympic silver in 1988 and a bronze in 1984, while she also won a Commonwealth silver and bronze.

1 Steve Backley

Britains greatest ever male thrower by some distance won three Olympic javelin medals (two silvers and a bronze), as well as two world silvers and set three world records. However, his greatest achievement is winning four successive European titles between 1990 and 2002, a time when Europeans topped the world. The now BBC commentator also won three Commonwealth golds and a silver, as well as European junior and World Student Games titles and had two further global top fours.

The big performances and leading results feature in our round-up

From my personal experience, this was my 41st consecutive London Marathon and I achieved my 49th consecutive year of marathoning, but it went so badly it might be the last as I was just outside the necessary Good for Age qualifying time. However, if this was my last it was a great one to go out on.

Windy weather made the fast times even more remarkable and a record 50,000 plus finishers, together with fantastic atmosphere, crowd support, record charity income and great British performances made it one of the best Londons and marathons anywhere ever.

Here are a few of my final observances as a full-time journalist.

Equality

There was general appreciation for the fact that men, women and wheelchair athletes now get equitable prize money but is it really equality?

I go so far back I can remember when women never ran marathons. I also recall even 40 years ago when big half-marathon events gave cars to the first man and a tracksuit to the first woman and when the wheelchair womens event consisted of just Tanni Grey-Thompson. For female and para athletes, the playing field has not been a level one.

But now the wheelchair events arguably have even more of the worlds leading exponents than the able-bodied races and of course, with their wheelchairs, the athletes have huge expenses with buying and maintaining their chairs.

However, for the best, the wheelchair race is not the same endurance event as running the marathon.

Thanks to their top of the range chairs, the leading men can break 1:30 and while I am sure it is still very gruelling, it clearly doesnt take as much out of you as running does, otherwise many of the leading exponents wouldnt have also done Boston less than a week before.

Runners dont really have the option of winning prize money twice in a week, with the highest elite only able to do two or three a year while a wheelchair athlete (given the shorter distance and the fact the event resembles cycling more than running) can do many more.

There is an argument also that the huge costs of a wheelchair precludes all but the most wealthy nations but wheelchair racers can point out that while the elite running races are Kenya and Ethiopia  dominated and only nine different nations feature in the running top 20, the wheelchair racers can boast a healthier 13 different nations, although clearly there are worldwide very few top-class wheelchair racers compared to the number of marathoners.

British performances

You could have got long odds on British men occupying two of the top four places given the quality of the entries but this was hugely promising from Emile Cairess and Mahamed Mahmed two runners who should only get much faster. So, too, should Marc Scott, who ran 2:11 on his debut.

Eight other Brits broke 2:20 in the elite mens race, while a further eight did so off of the mass start, making it 19 in total a good total given the wind and that London can be very lonely for those aiming for a sub-2:20 run compared to races like Seville and Valencia.

The womens race wasnt so positive, with some leading Brits sitting back on their 2023 times or absent and only one Brit broke 2:35 (a great debut for Mhairi Maclennan in 2:29:15) and just nine UK athletes bettered 2:40.

For tactical perfection I draw attention to Molly Smith, who was second-fastest Brit and ran from the mass start. The debutante, who is the sister of Jake Smith (who paced her for a brief period after fulfilling his elite duties) ran splits of 18:19 for the opening downhill 5km and then an astonishingly even 18:36, 18:33, 18:32, 18:36, 18:38, 18:38, 18:34 and then sped up over the last 2km for a 2:36:22.

Kenenisa Bekele and masters performances

After this second place and world masters record is there any doubt that Kenenisa Bekele is the greatest all-round distance runner of all time? To run 2:04 at 41, over two decades after winning his first senior global title is astonishing and, if you add in his world records, Olympic titles, world cross-country golds 24 global golds plus 11 other global medals he is unsurpassed.

In terms of remarkable records, though, Jeannie Rice pushes him close but it is a confusing situation. The 76-year-old had run slightly quicker at the downhill and point-to-point Boston last year but her 3:33:27 was almost 15 minutes quicker than her official W75 world mark set in Chicago in 2023. However, that is the gun time and she had a Chicago chip time of 3:34:32.

For good measure, at London she beat all the M75 men and W70 women to defy both gender and age. However, it should be noted that she didnt cross the start line at London until nine minutes after the mass race had started so the officious WMA may ratify her London run at 3:42 though she almost certainly set off as early as she could.

Still listed as the first M60 on Wednesday (April 24) is Peter Barrett with 2:42:22.

He appears to be an experienced marathon runner having last year ran in Seville, Stockholm, Frankfurt and Valencia but his PB is 3:17:11.

How did he improve 35 minutes in one race?

He went through the start but didnt pass a timing mat until 25km where he was timed at 76:49, which is 2:07 pace from his start. He then ran from 25km to the finish at about 3:30 pace.

Fellow M60 runner Glenn Whellams ran 2:52:42 and was denied as being listed as age-group winner due to Barretts actions. London have referred the result to their Entries and Data team to investigate.

Organisation

With over 50,000 runners, it was narrow in places but the general organisation from my own experience was first class as usual.

I did have a loo queuing problem (on the yellow start) compared to normal but, otherwise, the start procedure, distance markers, water availability, toilets on course, marshalling, crowd control and baggage collection were fine.

There were lots of other records apart from Bekele, Rice and Peres Jepchirchirs women-only record, though some seem a little forced albeit impressive if anyone wants to run a marathon wearing 100 t-shirts such as Brendan Matthews achieved.

However I am also in awe that Ben Kellett set a marathon record for carrying a bike (3:54:52) and was quicker than me. As he started some time after, thankfully he did not pass me.

I was overtaken, though, by the fastest marathon dressed as a sweet food, though I dont normally pass on cake. Laura Baker (yes genuine name) passed me and soon desserted me and left me in tiers.

Elite men: 1 Alexander Mutiso Munyao KEN 2:04:01; 2 Kenenisa Bekele ETH 2:04:15; 3 Emile Cairess 2:06:46; 4 Mahamed Mahamed 2:07:05; 5 Hassan Chahdi FRA 2:07:30; 6 Henok Tesfay ERI 2:09:22; 7 Hendrik Pfeiffer GER 2:10:00; 8 Kinde Atanaw ETH 2:10:03; 9 Johannes Motschmann GER 2:10:39; 10 Brian Shrader USA 2:10:50; 11 Marc Scott 2:11:19; 12 Alexander Lepretre 2:15:34; 13 Stephen Scullion IRL 2:16:04; 14 James Hoad 2:16:29; 15 Juan Luis Barrios MEX 2:16:37; 16 Callum Hawkins 2:17:34; 17 Daniel Hamilton 2:17:35; 18 Alexander Lawrence 2:17:41; 19 Kieran Walker 2:18:32; 20 Dominic Jones USA 2:19:10; 21 Adam Bowden 2:19:34; 22 Charlie Sandison 2:20:11; 23 Ryan Thomson 2:21:24; 24 William Mycroft 2:21:48; 25 Martin Hoare IRL 2:22:59; 26 Kieran Clements 2:23:44; 27 Norman Shreeve 2:24:29; 28 David Bishop 2:25:54; 29 Seifu Tura ETH 2:36:20

Elite Women: Mar: 1 Peres Jepchirchir KEN 2:16:16; 2 Tigst Assefa ETH 2:16:23; 3 Joyciline Jepkosgei KEN 2:16:24; 4 Alemu Megertu ETH 2:16:34; 5 Brigid Kosgei KEN 2:19:02; 6 Sheila Kiprotich KEN 2:19:31; 7 Tigist Ketema ETH 2:23:21; 8 Yalemzerf Yehualaw ETH 2:23:26; 9 Ruth Chepngetich KEN 2:24:36; 10 Abreha Tsige ETH 2:25:03; 11 Mhairi MacLennan 2:29:15; 12 Becky Briggs 2:35:25; 13 Rachel Hodgkinson 2:36:49; 14 Helen Winsor 2:38:40; 15 Alice Wright 2:40:51; 16 Anya Culling 2:44:00

Mass men: 1 M Kalideni RSA 2:14:27; 2 G James 2:14:59; 3 J Dahike GER 2:15:42; 4 W Maunsell IRL 2:16:34; 5 S Hogan 2:17:02; 6 J Nipperess 2:17:17; 7 Y Malusi RSA 2:17:34; 8 Y Fukuda JPN 2:18:41; 9 N Torry M45 2:18:46; 10 S Blake 2:19:10; 11 E Shepherd 2:19:13; 12 D Haymes 2:19:19; 13 D Mansfield IRL 2:19:22; 14 C Thomas 2:19:24; 15 T Martyn 2:19:56; 16 N Dawson 2:20:22; 17 A Peacock 2:20:56; 18 M Hashi 2:21:11; 19 A Nummela 2:21:18; 20 O Garrod 2:22:13; 21 J Mitchell 2:22:27; 22 J Reeder 2:22:29; 23 G Parki 2:22:31; 24 S Nott 2:22:38; 25 K Seyed 2:22:44

Mass women: 1 A Fink SLO 2:33:53; 2 M Smith 2:36:22; 3 A Eykelbosch 2:36:26; 4 V Hopkins 2:37:17; 5 L Reed W40 2:38:02; 6 R Murray 2:38:52; 7 E Marchant 2:41:07; 8 R Bunting 2:41:14; 9 K Mauthoor 2:42:16; 10 A Harrold 2:42:43; 11 S Hunter 2:43:17; 12 C Thornton 2:43:40; 13 A Braham W45 2:43:43; 14 L Flynn W40 2:43:52; 15 L Bailey W40 2:44:02; 16 R Ezra Ham 2:44:46; 17 M Perlman W40 2:44:57; 18 S Holt W40 2:45:34; 19 R Piggott 2:45:41; 20 M Gibson W40 2:45:42; 21 S McIntosh W45 2:46:22; 22 G Griffith 2:46:25; 23 S Howells 2:46:27; 24 S Wernicke GER 2:46:45; 25 N Drakeford 2:46:50

LONDON MARATHON MASTERS RESULTS

Kenenisa Bekele was the stand out masters male runner by finishing a fine second overall and beating his own M40 world record, with 2:04:15, after mounting a serious bid for overall victory, Martin Duff reports.

The 41-year-old Ethiopian, like overall winner Alex Munyao, slowed towards the finish but otherwise reeled off successive 5km splits consistently inside 14:40 before a 14:47 and finally a 15:08 to the 40km mark.

Bekeles time shaved four seconds from his own record set in Valencia in December and his new world record was down to a chase up the Mall that saw him just fall 14 second short of an overall victory. More on his race in our main report.

It was not the only world record though and there was an astonishing world mark from Jeannie Rice.

The American already held the W75 mark with a 3:48:02 in Chicago last year but here she ran an incredible 3:33:27 to take 14 minutes off of her official mark.

Her 5km splits were initially very even 24:30, 24:45, 24:40, 24:45, 24:44, 25:01 and 25;33 before slowing to a final 26:48.

She had run a few seconds faster at Boston last year though but that course is obviously not record-legal.

Men

The first Brit home was top M45 Nick Torry, in 2:18:46, as M40 Robert Brundish was next in 2:23:10. The age group winners M45 time was a minute outside Ian Leitchs British best mark. A couple of early fast 5km splits saw Torry through 10km in a chip time of 32:27, having crossed the start line six seconds down on the gun.

The Kent AC man reached the half-distance, at Tower Bridge, in 68:59 before slowing only marginally in the second half of the distance, as only nine other Brits from the Elite race were faster. It was his first outing over the distance since placing second M40 in 2021 in 2:18:39.

This was only Brundishs second marathon following his 2:24:58 in Decembers Valencia event and only a few weeks after a 2:03:46 run out in the tough Stenning Stinger multi-terrain 20 miler.

Jonathan Walton retained his London M50 title, albeit a couple of minutes down on his 2023 time with 2:23:47. It was the Leeds mans third M50 victory to go with a 2022 second spot.

Norman Mawhinney was another to retain his age group title and the Ulsterman did so in 2:58:26 and, with it, the M65 crown.

At the top of the age range, Stuart Mann took the M80 title in 3:58:19, from Robin Scott and former London age group winner Martin Ford.

Women

Lauren Reed (formerly Deadman) was the first age 40 and over woman home, in the Mass start, when winning by nearly three minutes from Rebecca Bunting in 2:38:02. It was only the Havering runners second outing over the distance and was a PB by more than four minutes, having turned 40 earlier this year.

After passing 5km in 18:05, Reed inevitably slowed but was through 10km in 36:41 and the half-distance in 78:03, Despite her last two 5km splits being outside 19-minutes, an age group victory was hers.

The second quickest W40 was, however, Helen Gaunt, who had won the W40 section in the past two years, who ran ran 2:38:40, for 14th, in the Elite race.

Elsewhere, the other stand out masters runner was British W60 record-holder Treena Johnson, but the Dewsbury runner was just over a minute outside her age group record when taking her class by more than ten minutes in 2:59:06.

Ambitious early kilometres saw Johnson through 10km in 41:25 and then the half-distance in 88:12, but still just about on target for her own British record. Time was then lost in the closing miles with her 5km split to the 40km line nearly a minute slower than her first.

First W45 home was former junior star Alice Braham, who retained her London title in 2:43:43, five minutes clear of Claire Grima, despite being almost three minutes slower over the second half of the race.

Thirty years ago she won the English Schools 3000m title and she also won the English National cross-country in 1995.

Bristol and Wests Annabel Granger has shown good form since moving up to the W50 group and repeated her 2021 W45 age group victory with a 2:48:26 clocking, just three seconds clear of Karima Harris.

Despite the close finish with Harris, Granger actually trailed eventually third-placer Sarah Swinhoe to almost halfway but she was ahead of Harris from the start and gradually extended her lead from 31 seconds after 5km, 44 after 10km to reach the half-distance 61 seconds clear of Harris in 82:24. Harris lost a few more seconds to reach 25km 68 seconds down. Then, despite slowing, the Highgate runner rapidly began to close the gap and 54 seconds became 18, then just five seconds at 40km before Granger just held on.

Alice-Riddell-Webster was one of just a few leading age group runners to set a PB, albeit by just three seconds, with 2:58:15 when placing top W55, her first age group win in the capital.

It was the first race on home tarmac for W65 winner Sandy Masters, after good placings in the Tokyo Marathon and the Prague Half. Her 3:28:12 shaved a couple of ticks from her lifetime best set in Chicago last year.

Men

M40: 1 K Bekele (ETH) 2:04:15; 2 R Brundish (Horsh J) 2:23:10; 3 C Sedeno (CRC) 2:23:20

M45: 1 N Torry (Kent) 2:18:46; 2 B Shearer (Camb H) 2:27:12; 3 R McDowell (HW) 2:28:56

M50: 1 J Walton (Leeds) 2:32:47; 2 P Gaimster (Win RC) 2:35;57; 3 N Burton (Horsf) 2:35:59

M55: 1 R Ashby (USA) 2:38:29; 2 G Bale (Pstock) 2:42;18; 3 A Pendred (Wboro) 2:42:28

M60: 1 G Whellams (Salf) 2:52:42; 2 O Dare (Witham) 2:54:23; 3 V Matejik (Worth) 2:57:07

M65: 1 N Mawhinney (Scrabo) 2:58:26; 2 G Neville (SHAEF) 2:58:47; 3 J Young (USA) 2:59:53

M70: 1 D Gibson (Tri Hard) 3:13:31; 2 J Etter (SUI) 3:18:53; 3 J Jolly (FRA) 3:26:35

M75: 1 A Jeyes (Ivanhoe) 3:44:20; 2 M Fluckiger (SUI) 3:50:16; 3 C Taylor (Trent P) 4:00:28

M80: 1 S Mann (Herts P) 3:58:19; 2 R Scott Kilb) 4:33:10; 3 M Ford Chelt) 4:43:43

Women

W40: 1 L Reed (Having) 2:38:02; 2 H Gaunt (Ton) 2:38:40; 3 R Bunting (Lon H) 2:41:14

W45: 1 A Braham (Ealing E) 2:43:43; 2 C Grima (HW) 2:48:33; 3 K Raczkiewicz (POL) 2:51:52

W50: 1 A Granger (B&W) 2:48:26; 2 K Harris (High) 2:48:29; 3 S Swinhoe (Lon H) 2:51:39

W55: 1 A Riddell-Webster (Fulham) 2:58:15; 2 L Trachsel (USA) 2:59:07; 3 P Habbick (St Alb) 3:03:19

W60: 1 T Johnson (Dews) 2:59:06; 2 M Slocum IRE) 3:09:47; 3 K Flikschuh (GER) 3:14:27

W65: 1 S Masters (Wbury) 3:28:12; 2 J Kidd (Kenil) 3:31:41; 3 M Davis (Strag) 3:40:22

W70: 1 G Wasielewski (USA) 3:43:03; 2 J Orme (Portis) 3:48:34; 3 D Peterson (USA) 3:56:05

W75: 1 J Rice (USA) 3:33:27; 2 J Davies (E&E) 4:07:56; 3 L Ashmore (Eg H) 4:14:47

W80: 1 V Brown 5:52:45; 2 T Buckhanan (USA) 5:59:53; 3 L Morono (Metros, ESP) 6:27:0

Wheelchair: Men:1 M Hug SUI 1:28:35; 2 D Romanchuk USA 1:29:06; 3 D Weir 1:29:58; 4 T Suzuki JPN 1:30:42; 5 S Watanabe JPN 1:35:33; 6 A Pike USA 1:35:35; 7 G Schipper NED 1:35:36; 8 J Cassidy CAN 1:35:40; 9 E Correll USA 1:36:59; 10 J Smith 1:37:00; 11 P Monahan IRL 1:37:06; 12 S Lawson 1:37:06; 13 J Botello ESP 1:37:07; 14 M McCabe 1:41:37; 15 J Lappin AUS 1:41:50

Women: 1 C Debrunner SUI 1:38:54; 2 M Schar SUI 1:45:00; 3 T McFadden USA 1:45:51; 4 M de Rozario AUS 1:45:54; 5 W Tsuchida JPN 1:50:18; 6 E Rainbow-Cooper 1:50:39; 7 P Eachus SUI 1:50;39; 8 V De Souza BRA 1:50:43; 9 N Den Boer NED 1:50:45; 10 J Fesemyer USA 1:50:45; 11 C Dawes AUS 1:50:48; 12 T Kina JPN 1:50:48; 13 M Wheeler USA 1:51:11; 14 M Menje GER 1:53:49; 15 N Alphonse MRI 2:02:32

Mini Marathon (British Champs)

U17 men (2.6km): 1 O Patton 7:27; 2 M Clark 7:32; 3 T Chadwick 7:32; 4 Z Dunn 7:34; 5 K Fulton 7:35; 6 A Lennon 7:35

U15: 1 J Scanes 7:33;  2 E Grime 7:33; 3 J Meyburgh 7:41; 4 P Aron 7:45; 5 A Wilkinson 7:45; 6 A Lane 7:47

U13: 1 T McCartie 8:18; 2 E Cunniffe 8:24; 3 T Creed 8:24; 4 E Langley-Aybar 8:24; 5 B Roberts 8:24; 6 O McDonald 8:32

U17 women: 1 K Pye 8:20; 2 L Belshaw 8:23; 3 I Jones 8:30; 4 A Teasdale 8:32; 5 E Nicholson 8:33; 6 A James 8:34

U15: 1 O Forrest 8:26; 2 J March 8:28; 3 E Whitworth 8:34; 4 H Cross 8:37; 5 P Quinn 8:38; 6 K Scott 8:38

U13: 1 S Smith 8:47; 2 M Mullett 8:53; 3 P Guest 8:55; 4 E Birchall 9:00; 5 P Phillipson 9:03; 6 M Bown 9:05

Additional results will be added when processed by Power of 10.

And he added: It's something that's happening at Glasgow - Harlequins game [in the Champions Cup], [Challenge Cup] final last year, Munster game in the [United Rugby Championship] quarter last year and then it's kind of a similar thing with Scotland.

We know we've got the players and in games we've got the opportunities to do things and we've not been able to. So, it's something that I think at the end of the day we're just going to have to go and do.

We can't talk about how close we are, it's just actually acting on that in the game. We're so desperate to get it done but until that happens it's just something that's so frustrating.

Once it happens once, hopefully we can kind of breed that winning culture. And you've seen the likes of Leinster, Ireland - they're used to winning all these tight games. They just know how to get the job done. It's something we can hopefully improve on.

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith said recently Scottish players get too nervous for the biggest games and become too focussed on the final result rather than the detail around performance.

Horne agrees that a desperation to win has proved counterproductive.

Franco talks about that a lot," Horne said. "Because we're so desperate, maybe you'll do something extra that you don't need to do or you'll go away from something in the game plan or you'll try this or try that.

Whereas the best teams in the world execute their plan, they stick to what they're good at and they get it done.

Personally, it's something I'm bad for. I'm so desperate to give my all and give my best, I'll probably end up trying to do too much and it'll negatively impact the team.

We've got the players, we've got the 23, we've got the squad. If we just do our job on the day, we should have enough to be hopefully going to win.

1: Jane Mangham (now Coats), Red Rose number 31

Mangham now calls Edinburgh her home and has been involved in coaching both rugby and football in Scotland. Jane is a qualified teacher but now enjoys life as a teaching assistant.

2: Nicky Ponsford, Red Rose 10

Ponsford moved into the world of rugby governance becoming Head of Womens Performance at the RFU and launching the now Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) league. Since 2021, she has worked for World Rugby as head of high performance.

3: Sandy Ewing, Red Rose 33

Ewing went to America to play for UCLA Club and the Grizzlies representing California, while also mentoring up and coming front-row players. She returned to New Zealand in 1996 playing for College Rifles and Auckland, before hanging up her boots in 1999.

4: Sarah Wenn, Red Rose 30

Wenn retired from rugby after the World Cup to concentrate on her career in complex construction environments, including projects like the Second Severn Crossing and Heathrow's Terminal 5. She now works in consultancy.

5: Heather Stirrup, Red Rose 29

Stirrup went on to manage the England squad. She then moved to Vancouver to teach maths and coached rugby at Simon Fraser University and the British Columbia women. She stayed in Canada and has recently retired from teaching.

6: Janis Ross (vice-captain), Red Rose 20

Ross returned to her job as a town planner but continued to play club rugby until 2000. In 2005 she was diagnosed with a genetic cardiomyopathy and had an implantable defibrillator inserted, meaning her sport is now a bit of social tennis. Ross worked for the NHS, retiring in 2022 to become an artist.

7: Genevieve Shore, Red Rose 41

Shore has served on the RFU Board of Directors since 2017. In 2022, she was announced as the chair of Womens Premier 15 Limited, now known as Premiership Womens Rugby (PWR).

8: Gill Burns, Red Rose 23

Burns later took on the England captaincy, and after hanging up her boots was named the first female president of an English rugby club, Waterloo. She became president of the Rugby Football Union for Women for 10 years. Gill continues to store the most comprehensive archive of womens rugby memorabilia that would otherwise have been lost for future generations.

9: Emma Mitchell, Red Rose 19

Mitchell enjoyed a career in academic publishing but on her retirement from playing rugby coached in the USA, Canada and UK. In 2007 Emma joined the English Institute of Sport as a performance lifestyle coach. Emma and full-back Jane Mitchell are identical twin sisters.

10: Karen Almond (captain), Red Rose 1

After the 1994 World Cup, Almond went on a Saracens tour to New Zealand and gave up her teaching job to stay out there and travel. She eventually made New Zealand her home and got permanent residency.

11: Annie Cole, Red Rose 39

Cole continued playing rugby at Henley until 2007 and then went back to playing hockey. She retrained to be a primary school teacher in 2006 and is now a deputy headteacher in Maidenhead.

12: Giselle Prangnell (now Mather), Red Rose 35

Mather moved into coaching and became the first woman in England achieve the level four coaching award. She coached the London Irish mens academy before heading up Wasps Women and now leads Ealing Trailfinders Women in the PWR.

13: Jacquie Edwards, Red Rose 37

Edwards went on to work in a variety of roles at the University of Kent. Shes also a singer, performing as Ginger Bennett with her Funk and Soul band Project K and the KD Dance Orchestra.

14: Val Blackett, Red Rose 38

Blackett played at Clifton then Cheltenham before going back to Bristol, where she finished playing at the age of 47. In 2024, she is still hoping to finish the season playing a few games of sevens.

15: Jane Mitchell, Red Rose 25

Mitchell settled in California playing for the Berkeley All Blues alongside some of the US side from the 1994 final. Jane represented the West Coast Grizzly and the USA in 7s. Jane is the identical twin sister to scrum-half Emma.