Steve Borthwick shrugs off underdogs tag as England face daunting Rugby World Cup semi-final
England rode out a late Fiji rally to prevail 30-24 in Marseille, and book a sixth World Cup semi-final.
The Red Rose men have now won five matches in a row for the first time since 2021 and will face South Africa in Paris on Saturday night.
Fiji outscored England three tries to two, including two scores in four minutes that turned the second-half on its head, but Owen Farrellās five penalties, one drop-goal and one conversion proved the difference.
Asked whether England will be content to be underdogs in their imminent last-four battle, Borthwick said: āI donāt really care what other people think of us, I care about the development of the team.
āWhat I sense here is a group of supporters that are behind this team, and theyāve been behind this team since the start of the tournament. I think the crowd were brilliant tonight.ā
England lost three of their four warm-up matches, notably 30-22 to Fiji at Twickenham on August 26 – their first-ever defeat by the Pacific Islanders.
Borthwick always insisted England would be ready for the World Cup, despite their miserable form of winning just three in nine matches under the new boss before heading to France. And now the Red Rose head coach clearly feels vindicated by his faith in Englandās development.
āI said the team would be ready for September 9 (Englandās first match); the team was ready for September 9,ā said Borthwick.
āAnd the teamās built through the tournament, I said this is a team and squad packed full of talented players who perform on the big occasion and they have performed on the big occasion.
āI get to work with a fantastic group of players that really improves this team.ā
Farrellās 20-point contribution cemented Englandās progress to the last four, despite Fiji drawing level from a 24-10 deficit.
Ben Earlās 50-metre break teed up Farrellās final penalty to kill the contest, leaving the Red Rose captain to praise his Saracens teammate.
āBen Earlās obviously growing and growing as a player, but itās no surprise to me,ā said Farrell.
āIāve been his teammate now for a long time now, and seeing how hungry he is, and how much he wants the ball and wants to get involved when the game matters. And Iāve seen that obviously for the club for a while now, and weāre seeing it here.
āAnd on days like today, it probably doesnāt feel as right to pick out individuals as much, because as I said itās not just a team performance but a whole squad one. But he certainly played a big part in it.
āWeāre very pleased to find a way to win the game again today. I think the teamās done an excellent job of that over the group stages, and now weāre in a big knockout game, so very pleased.
āThe effort that the full squad thatās gone into this week has made it an enjoyable week and a week where weāve all gone after it together. That will continue now into next week.ā
