Elton John’s classic hit, ‘I’m Still Standing’ rang out as England’s players triumphantly walked around Marseille’s fantastic Stade Velodrome stadium. They had just seen off Fiji 30-24 in a breathless quarter-final. It was an apt tune because seven weeks ago England was trudging off the Twickenham turf after a disastrous loss to Fiji. England scraped through in a thrilling quarter-final to march onto Paris and a date with South Africa. Few expected them to get out of their group and yet here are Steve Borthwick’s men, two games away from being World Champions. For the first 40 minutes England was excellent, the best we have seen for quite a while. In the second half, two missed tackles and the brilliant Fijians were level 24-24. England kept calm and got the job done writes Charlie Inglefield.
England scraped through in a thrilling quarter-final
After a relatively underwhelming pool stage, the 2023 World Cup quarter-finals were utterly magnificent. All four quarter-finals were thrillers and England’s clash against Fiji in Marseille was no different. England has not been convincing in the pool stages but a favourable draw has seen them grow in confidence with a semi-final in Paris the reward. For the first 40 minutes, England finally showed what they could do. We saw offloads, some intelligence shifting of play out wide and the forwards ran hard and direct. The scoreboard ticked over and importantly for Borthwick, Owen Farrell started to dictate proceedings.
In the second half, England had a chance to pull away a couple of times but to Fiji’s immense credit they exploded into life. It would be easy to criticise England’s missed tackles but the Fijian offloading was mesmeric. Semi Radradra, quiet in this tournament, was dynamite alongside his skipper Waisea Nayacalevu. Suddenly a comfortable 24-10 lead for England was 24-24 in the blink of an eye. As England have done in this tournament, they found a way to get through. It was thrilling, breathless and for England fans, almighty relief.
England’s back-row were magnificent
The breakdown was always going to be crucial to both teams. Levani Botia only took a couple of minutes to put his massive hands on the ball and win a penalty. But so did Courtney Lawes, who was a colossus for England throughout. Lawes was absolutely everywhere for England, a constance menace at the breakdown and with enough energy to being his team’s premier carrier. Then there was Ben Earl, England’s most consistent player in the last three months.
Earl like Lawes and Curry were England’s energy bunnies. All three were at the heart of England’s victory. Tom Curry’s discipline needs to improve but 19 tackles was a healthy return as he gets back to full match fitness. Earl threw himself at Fiji in defence and attack to firmly establish himself as England’s number 8. Earl, Lawes and Curry outshone Botia, Bill Mata and Lekima Tagitagivalu. They had a big say for England to scrape through in a thrilling quarter-final.
Farrell answers his critics
Farrell proved himself yet again as a test match animal. The bigger the occasion, the better Farrell becomes. Against Fiji, England needed his guidance particularly in those frenetic last ten minutes. Farrell delivered a drop goal, penalty and leadership. It has not been an easy ride for Farrell since Yokohama in 2019, there have been many critics, but against Fiji he produced the goods.
In those first 40 minutes, Farrell showed that he is at home as England’s alpha male fly-half. He was part of a highly efficient backline in the first 20 minutes. Farrell was at the heart of moving England’s point of attack that led to their two tries. Then there was the usual physicality in defence as well as an improved kicking game both off the tee and in open play. It says a lot about Farrell how he shuts out the external noise and stays true to his principles. It worked as England scraped through in a thrilling quarter-final.
Changes likely as mighty South Africa await
As England scraped through a thrilling quarter-final Borthwick will be aware just how different an opposition South Africa will be. In yet another incredible quarter-final the Springboks turned on their renowned power to take down France on Sunday evening. The mighty Springbok pack were in fine fettle in the second half in particular and England will know what is heading their way.
Borthwick showed that he was not afraid to make some changes for the Fiji match-up. Against South Africa he may well do the same. The kicking aerial threat that the likes of Handré Pollard and Faf de Klerk will initiate might mean that Freddie Steward goes back into the full back role. Marcus Smith was busy but well contained by Fiji but his unpredictability is so important to this England attack. It’s a difficult selection call for Borthwick to make. Dan Cole was quiet for England on Sunday and given his nightmare in the World Cup Final four years ago, Joe Marler’s set-piece prowess will be better suited to a thunderous Springbok assault.
England can use the underdog tag to their advantage
On England’s wings, Elliot Daly was effective without ever truly cutting loose. Jonny May made a crucial tap tackle but has shown little in attack in this tournament. If England are going to properly threaten South Africa and their rush defence which was excellent against France then the wingers need to threaten more. It is highly unlikely that Borthwick will start Henry Arundell, but for a match of this enormity England must have x-factor available to inject into the game especially if they are chasing.
England scraped through in a thrilling quarter-final but how ironic it is to see them as the only unbeaten team left in the draw. Nobody will back them to topple the current world champions South Africa and that will suit Borthwick and his team just fine. Anything can happen in the pressure cooker environment of a World Cup Semi-Final and England must embrace the occasion to the full. The pressure is off Borthwick now having guided England to five successive wins. England can use the underdog tag to their advantage and unleash everything they have against the Springboks on Saturday night.
Photo Credit: David Rogers/Getty Images from England Rugby Facebook Page on October 15, 2023.
