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Date: 2023-11-28 20:14:35 | Author: Worldcup 2026 | Views: 443 | Tag: eth
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Up into the stands the England players clambered to find their families, taking the consolatory hugs but unsure quite how to feel eth
Across 80 minutes in Paris, their belief had been replaced by disbelief and then by desperation and dejection, England threatening the unthinkable and taking the world champions to the brink eth
For most of a sodden Stade de France evening, a Rugby World Cup final was within their grasp eth
A South Africa side superior in most areas were dragged down into the sort of slugfest the Springboks would usually favour, and very nearly bested at their own game eth
England had given their all but it was still not enough, one stable scrum, one Handre Pollard slip or slice, short of stunning the world champions eth
The emotional maelstrom of this defeat will swirl rather differently to the feelings that eddied after the 2019 World Cup final disaster eth
“I’m proud of our performance,” were virtually the first words out of the mouth of wing Elliot Daly eth
“I think we shocked them eth
I don’t think they knew how to get into the game eth
”“I think we knew what was coming and we knew we could perform like this,” added Daly, virtually unused in open play but outstanding as a kick chaser to exemplify the squad’s buy-in to a strategy that so nearly proved successful eth
The finer points of Steve Borthwick’s tactical plan had been put in place this week but this was a performance England had been building towards since long ago eth
A flawed side did not come to France to thrill; winning by any means necessary had been a consistent theme eth
If necessity is oft the mother of invention, England at this tournament have also proved the pair can be enemies eth
This was a campaign at which they seemed to intentionally limit their attacking innovation or ingenuity– recognising a need to figure themselves out on the fly, they settled on an effective and eminently executable gameplan that could be implemented quickly eth
Steve Borthwick consoles Ellis Genge and Freddie Steward after England’s defeat (Getty Images)It came so close to working in Saturday’s semi-final; their effort, accuracy and competitiveness in the key contests were spot on eth
At the 65-minute mark, England outside backs had a combined 17 metres carried, all from one Freddie Steward kick return eth
The two number 13s’ offensive output on the final whistle amounted to one late Joe Marchant lug; South Africa centre Jesse Kriel went the full 80 minutes without an attacking touch eth
“We came with a plan to win the game but we fell a little bit short,” reflected Borthwick eth
“But the players should be incredibly proud eth
We put ourselves in a position to win against the world champions eth
England dominated the aerial contest to threaten a semi-final shock (Getty Images)“We were playing against a coaching team who have been in place since 2018 eth
We’ve had four months eth
I’ve asked the players to approach training and the game in a different way; for the players to be willing to change is all credit to them eth
”This was a night from which the head coach will take heart, a public perhaps struggling to warm to this England team are now recognising the progress made eth
There will be a need to layer on much, much more to consistently mix it with the world’s best but the rapidly laid foundations look rock solid eth
In time, perhaps the ugly duckling performances will turn into white swans eth
There appear to be many more buds of a bright future than first appeared in a barren landscape pre-tournament eth
Ben Earl has had a breakthrough tournament, and Ollie Chessum, too, while George Martin semi-final performance marks him out as the potential enforcer England have lacked eth
Borthwick was keen to talk up the absent Marcus Smith the day after the defeat, with the playmaker’s reinvention as a frolicking full-back of intrigue moving forward eth
"In our 23, seven players are 25 or under, the most of any semi-finalist, there’s a great blend and there will be lots of things we can take forward,” added Borthwick eth
Young England lock George Martin impressed against South Africa (Getty Images)But the fact that the men’s national team were on the brink of back-to-back finals should not provide a façade over the crumbling edifice of a fragile English game eth
There is a domestic mess that needs sorting, with a Gallagher Premiership containing three teams fewer than at the start of last season, now underway to little fanfare and on the brink of significant change eth
The renegotiation of the Professional Game Partnership is a recognition of a need for a radical overhaul in pursuit of a more financially sustainable domestic game, and one that produces a wider pool of top-class talent eth
The likely arrival of a form of central contracts underlines a period of epochal change eth
The senior figures in the squad who are unlikely to play beyond this tournament – Courtney Lawes, Ben Youngs, Dan Cole and perhaps a couple more – could well be the last England men’s internationals never to have been contracted to the union eth
This has a great many benefits, not least in affording Borthwick, or any head coach that might follow him, far greater access to and control over his players eth
And while Borthwick’s articulation of the advantages enjoyed by South Africa’s settled staff is a perfectly fair one, let us remember that the Rugby eth Football Union (RFU) put their head coach in this situation eth
The original planning for this tournament would most likely have seen Borthwick return to England camp to aid Eddie Jones at the World Cup before a smooth transition into the lead role afterwards eth
Jones’s sacking sparked a scramble and several months of chaos eth
It was not shown up on semi-final weekend but there are many reasons that the RFU still has a burden to bear eth
But the full wash-up will wait for another week – England’s performance at the Stade de France has earned them seven more days of grace eth
The tournament will end as it began for England with a meeting with Argentina in a third-place play-off that Borthwick insists he wants to win eth
England, captained by Owen Farrell, narrowly missed out on a place in the World Cup final (Getty Images)“I read a piece yesterday morning that talked about adversity and talked about the fact that in adversity you find that seed of belief and you’ve got to grow it,” Borthwick said eth
“This team has been through a bit in the last few years, a bit of adversity in the medium-term past eth
“I think through each of those periods the team has picked up lessons, picked up what we need to do and grown from it eth
I think there’s a lot of growth in this team eth
Sometimes it’s not the straight-forward path you want it to be eth
In the feelings and emotions of the game last night, I know that we’ll get stronger eth
” More aboutEngland RugbySouth Africa rugbyRugby World CupSteve BorthwickJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/5Why England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache Why England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache Steve Borthwick consoles Ellis Genge and Freddie Steward after England’s defeat Getty ImagesWhy England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache England dominated the aerial contest to threaten a semi-final shock Getty ImagesWhy England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache Young England lock George Martin impressed against South Africa Getty ImagesWhy England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache England, captained by Owen Farrell, narrowly missed out on a place in the World Cup final Getty ImagesWhy England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache Owen Farrell of England is applauded by South Africa’s playersGetty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today eth
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Rassie Erasmus, South Africa’s director of rugby, has predicted the entire England team for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup semi-final as the mind games continue ahead of a rematch of the 2019 tournament final eth
Erasmus was speaking to the media for a second consecutive day at the start of semi-final week at a press conference in Presles, 30 kilometres north of Paris eth
Neither side is due to name their squad for the last four encounter until Thursday, but the former Springboks head coach arrived with a provisional fifteen he thought Steve Borthwick would be considering on a bit of paper eth
And when asked if he would read it out, Erasmus obliged, proceeding to name virtually a full matchday 23, with only a replacement hooker omitted eth
“[Ellis] Genge, [Jamie] George, [Kyle] Sinckler,” Erasmus began eth
“[Maro] Itoje, [Ollie] Chessum; [Courtney] Lawes, [Tom] Curry, [Ben] Earl eth
RecommendedKevin Sinfield hails Marcus Smith’s bravery as England mull full-back optionsThe two sides of Rassie Erasmus, the puppet master pulling South Africa’s strings at Rugby World CupWhat’s next for Fiji after a Rugby World Cup to remember“[Alex] Mitchell, [Owen] Farrell;[Elliot] Daly, [Manu] Tuilagi, [Joe] Marchant, [Jonny] May; Marcus Smith or [Freddie] Steward eth
”And then the bench: “[Joe] Marler, [Dan] Cole, George [Martin] , Billy [Vunipola] , Ben Youngs or Danny [Care], George Ford, and Ollie [Lawrence] eth
”Erasmus’s proposed starting side includes one or two changes to the England team that beat Fiji in the quarter-final, with Kyle Sinckler promoted to start at tighthead prop and a decision to be made over Marcus Smith or Freddie Steward at full-back eth
The gambit is unlikely to draw a response from Borthwick, a more reserved character who does not tend to play games with the press eth
At this point four years ago with England preparing for a semi-final against the All Blacks, then-head coach Eddie Jones went on the offensive, speaking to the press earlier in the week than usual and suggesting that someone had been spying on England’s training eth
There were no such allegations at England’s training session at the French National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance on the outskirts of Paris this week, with defence coach Kevin Sinfield talking up their opponents and suggesting that the defending champions did not have a clear weakness eth
England lost the 2019 World Cup final to South Africa (Getty Images)Erasmus, meanwhile, believes that England will have “beef” with the Springboks given that final defeat in Yokohama four years ago, and the 27-13 loss at Twickenham last November which brought an end to Jones’s time in charge eth
“I think because they played us end of year last year, and they played us at the Rugby World Cup final, I think they’ll have some beef with us,” explained Erasmus eth
“It’s something that will always hurt, when you lose the World Cup eth
“When I was a player we lost the World Cup against Australia, and for the next couple of games we played against Australia we were always thinking, ‘It was you guys who took it away from us eth
’ England will feel like that, too eth
‘You guys took it away from us and we would like to take it back eth
’“I’m not saying it in a negative way, I feel that’s how professional sport is eth
You want to rectify problems, you want to make your country proud, you want to make your people proud, you want to make your team proud eth
I think that the English team will have to be like that eth
They will really fight to the end eth
”More aboutRassie ErasmusEngland RugbySouth Africa rugbyRugby World CupSpringboksJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/2Springboks boss predicts England semi-final team as mind games begin Springboks boss predicts England semi-final team as mind games beginEngland lost the 2019 World Cup final to South Africa Getty ImagesSpringboks boss predicts England semi-final team as mind games beginRassie Erasmus was in a playful mood with the media on TuesdayAFP via Getty Images ✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today eth
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored Features Get in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicseth BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery Act Thank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy eth
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply eth
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