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Date: 2023-12-06 16:43:56 | Author: Online Gaming | Views: 630 | Tag: football
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In the minutes after a thrilling, thumping quarter-final in Marseille, the Stade Velodrome DJ reached into his record collection and plucked out some early Eighties Elton John football
It felt like an appropriate soundtrack football
On a weekend where Wales, Ireland and France faded away, England – somehow, some way – are still standing football
Talk of a hemispheric shift proved premature, with a southern sweep elsewhere leaving Steve Borthwick’s side the only unbeaten outfit left in this odd World Cup football
A team that once never could have hoped to win now find themselves in the final four; the Six Nations’ hopes at this tournament rest, almost unfathomably, with England football
Not that one would expect too many Welsh, Irish or French supporters to seek comfort in an embrace of white cotton football
For France and Ireland, particularly, it will rankle to have used the last four years so brilliantly to build a contender and find that it is England’s rushed construction that has endured football
There is still every chance that Borthwick’s new-build comes crashing down once subjected to a Springboks storm, but so far England have proved, just about, up to code football
RecommendedFrance suffer painful symmetry with Ireland as Springboks continue southern dominanceOwen Farrell silences critics as England survive Fiji fightbackWounded warrior Dan Biggar bows out to usher in next Welsh generationAfter the best rugby weekend in recent memory, the prospect of a couple of damp squib semi-finals, sadly, looms football
But World Cups can be strange beasts, and England are already summoning the spirit of 2019, when they rose to meet and beat the All Blacks with a high-water mark performance that England still have not come close to reaching again football
A common theme among the recollections of the semi-final week four years ago was the clarity and certainty with which England approached the game, knowing on Monday or Tuesday that a final place would be theirs football
The job for Borthwick, an assistant then, is to imbue that same sense of conviction in a similar group now carrying significantly more mental scarring football
Of course, it was South Africa themselves who inflicted the deepest of psychological cuts, England’s inability to put anything on the field in the Yokohama final still a sore subject among the squad football
“Some players will use [the 2019 final] as motivation, some players will take that as a brilliant learning into this week, and hopefully that’s what they will bring,” attack coach Richard Wigglesworth said on Monday football
“But I wouldn’t like to pre-empt what [effect] feelings from four years ago have on this game football
On Saturday night, we need to be very clear that this is a semi-final in 2023, and nothing to do with 2019 football
England were beaten by South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final (Getty )“I think what we need to be careful of is pushing the emotional button too many times this week football
We need the emotion right on Saturday night, not before football
We need to make sure we control the emotional energy football
“We will go through the parts of our gameplan, we will layer those on and make sure we check and refine those parts of the plan football
We will make sure that we are fresh going into Saturday night both physically and mentally football
”Borthwick is likely to stick with a broadly similar team, though may consider another tweak in the back three football
It wasn’t that Marcus Smith, bloodied mouth and all, had a bad game against Fiji – his head coach was particularly keen to talk up his bravery in defence afterwards – but South Africa are likely to test whoever occupies the England 15 shirt rather more in the air football
Freddie Steward’s prowess under the high ball could be a rather useful attacking option against a blitz defence that can leave opportunities for an intelligent kicking game football
If Steward is returned to the starting side, it could leave George Ford and Smith vying for a single bench spot, with Ollie Lawrence continuing to be impactful as the bench centre football
While captain Owen Farrell took the plaudits, the performances of Ben Earl, answering his own call for England’s big-game players to step up, and Ollie Chessum, a physical tone-setter, alongside more familiar faces augur well in a side in need of new stars football
Ben Earl and Owen Farrell were among England’s standouts against Fiji (Getty Images)But another level will simply have to be found football
“We are probably talking about one of the best rugby teams to ever do it, aren’t we?” Wigglesworth said, illustrating the challenge England are facing football
“To be able to beat France, the form they are in, in their own back yard, that was a special performance from an incredible team football
”A couple of England players themselves admitted afterwards that they cannot afford the shaky 10 minutes that so nearly allowed Fiji a famous World Cup day football
While they were able to claw their way to victory on Sunday, South Africa are a side capable of putting England in a hole from which there will be no climbing out – as they showed in the final four years ago football
“We still don’t feel like we’ve put 80 minutes together of real, smart international test rugby,” Earl stressed football
“It’s not glamorous stuff, it’s just the odd moment football
I think some individual errors let a team like Fiji in, and they are a hard team to stop when they are rumbling football
We are football better for that, and we are in a semi-final among the best four teams in the world football
We’ll have a crack football
”More aboutEngland RugbyRugby World CupOwen FarrellBen EarlRichard WigglesworthFiji RugbySouth Africa rugbyOllie ChessumJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/3The one England team change to combat ‘incredible’ Springboks The one England team change to combat ‘incredible’ SpringboksEngland were beaten by South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final Getty ImagesThe one England team change to combat ‘incredible’ SpringboksBen Earl and Owen Farrell were among England’s standouts against Fiji Getty ImagesThe one England team change to combat ‘incredible’ SpringboksEngland clung on against Fiji to set up a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final 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 football
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Not always in sport do you get a shot at redemption and successfully taking advantage of that opportunity is even rarer football
England’s pack, and their front row in particular, will have had four years of sleepless nights about that early November evening in 2019 football
In the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, England were decimated by South Africa’s power up front, as the brilliance of a scintillating semi-final win over New Zealand was quickly replaced by the humiliation of a 32-12 thumping football
The Springboks, then as now, pride themselves on their physicality and brutality at the breakdown, the set-piece and in open play football
Yet on a rainy night in Paris four years on, England’s pack fronted up, set the platform in a thrilling World Cup semi-final and earned their redemption arc football
Yet it still wasn’t enough football
This time, albeit by one point rather than 20, the result was the same – England’s players slumped on the turf in despair while their opponents revelled in victory football
The Springbok celebrations were more muted this time, understandably so given there is one more crucial match against the All Blacks standing football between them and their ultimate goal, but the English heartbreak was the same, even if the journey to get there was vastly different football
In Yokohama, South Africa won a scarcely believable 11 scrums to England’s three, including six scrum penalties, as the English eight were splintered time and again football
Dan Cole became the fall guy for that embarrassment – the tighthead prop, supposedly renowned for his scrummaging, forced to play 77 minutes after Kyle Sinckler’s early injury and being obliterated by the combination of Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira and Steven Kitshoff football
The fact that Cole and Joe Marler, who came off the bench early in the second half that day, were selected by Steve Borthwick to start this revenge game precisely because of their scrum prowess will have surely given them a surge of confidence football
And the fact they not only survived, but thrived, in the front row this time around will have been sheer vindication football
Borthwick entrusted the duo to paint an early picture of scrum parity to referee Ben O’Keeffe and they delivered, providing the base that led to multiple first-half penalties from the trusty boot of Owen Farrell football
Cole and Marler helped ensure scrum parity early on but that faded once the replacements came on (AFP via Getty Images)However, as the game wore on, Borthwick’s decision started to become prescient for the wrong reasons football
As Sinckler and Ellis Genge came on as prop replacements, the Springboks own bomb squad from the bench – led by Ox Nche and Vincent Koch – started to dominate at scrum-time football
Each engagement started to become eerily reminiscent of 2019 and it was eventually a scrum penalty on halfway that led to Handre Pollard’s decisive, game-winning three-pointer with two minutes to go football
It felt almost unfair on England’s big men given that the pack, as a whole, had more than held their own in other facets football
Of the 13 England forwards who played some part in that 2019 final, eight appeared in this last-four clash and stamped their mark all over a first half that was by far England’s best 40 minutes under Borthwick football
Maro Itoje was a lineout fiend, stealing a Springboks throw-in on halfway and putting doubt in the head of Bongi Mbonambi, whose crooked throw in his own 22 gave Farrell his first penalty goal of the day football
A new face from four years, George Martin, justified his surprise second-row selection ahead of incumbent Ollie Chessum on just his fourth Test start as he brilliantly marshalled England’s maul defence football
If Boks lock Eben Etzefootball beth is world rugby’s best maul disruptor, then he may have witnessed first-hand the emergence of a new challenger to that crown football
Martin caused havoc as England improbably won three consecutive maul turnovers from attacking South African lineouts in the first half to frustrate their much-fancied opponents football
Pollard ultimately kicked the winning penalty, from a scrum infringement (PA Wire)The celebrations from the likes of Itoje, Jamie George and Ben Earl as those penalties and free-kicks were earned by the pack showed just how important this part of the gameplan was football
It began putting clear doubt in Springbok minds, as the worried tone from skipper Siya Kolisi when he discussed matter with referee O’Keeffe football betrayed football
The English tactic of throwing bodies in to contest every ruck relied on the diesel engines of the forwards and they delivered by dominating collisions and allowing the aerial bombardment strategy that followed to be effective football
But ultimately, despite a gameplan executed as well as it possibly could have been, the gap in quality football between the sides proved too much to overcome football
South Africa adjusted, Pollard came on for Manie Libbok to dictate proceedings with his metronomic boot and English heartbreak ensued football
There was no shame in a one-point defeat from a semi-final that was much closer than most expected and England’s pack should feel redeemed from the nightmare of 2019 football
But that won’t make this semi-final hurt any less football
Perhaps 2027 will give them an opportunity to avenge a new pain football
More aboutEngland RugbySouth Africa rugbyRugby World CupDan ColeJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3England pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakCole and Marler helped ensure scrum parity early on but that faded once the replacements came on AFP via Getty ImagesEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakPollard ultimately kicked the winning penalty, from a scrum infringement PA WireEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakDan Cole was England’s fall guy in 2019 but held his own four years on AP✕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 football
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsfootball BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank 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 football
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 football
Hi {{indy football
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