Rugby World Cup: Semi-final previews

Owen Farrell issued a classy response to England’s gut-wrenching defeat to South Africa in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals on Saturday night. The 32-year-old kicked every single point for Steve Borthwick’s side but it was not enough to secure a famous victory over the Springboks, who will face New Zealand in next weekend’s final at the Stade de France.

England dominated with the boot for the vast majority of the contest, with Farrell proving accurate from the tee as they raced into a healthy lead. South Africa, however, went on to pull themselves within two points of England late on when RG Snyman bundled over the line with just 11 minutes remaining.

A last-gasp penalty from Handre Pollard ended up sealing an incredible comeback victory for the Springboks, who managed to pull off a repeat of the 2019 final by condemning England to another painful loss. Farrell was visibly upset after the full-time whistle but kept it classy in his post-match interview as he underlined his pride in the squad for defying expectations over the course of the tournament.

“I am unbelievably proud of this group and what they have done over this past few months together,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “It has not all gone our way as everybody knows, we have had everything thrown at us. It has been a rollercoaster.

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“I’m glad where we have built to, but gutted we don’t have a crack at the big one next week. I am massively proud of this group and I hope everyone back home is as well.

“We came up with a plan during the week and the weather conditions played a part in it as well. We started the game really well, we shocked them at times and they made a few changes to change what they were doing. Credit to them fighting their way back into it and finding a way to win at the end.

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“I am massively proud of how we have built, the support has built over the World Cup and that performance shows how proud we are to be English and to wear this shirt. I think we have made a start of going forward and there is a lot to come from this group.”

England will undoubtedly be gutted after coming so close to beating South Africa and finally banishing their demons from their defeat in 2019, but it wasn’t to be in the end. They will instead be forced to watch the Springboks take on New Zealand for the sport’s biggest prize next weekend, although they can still claim a third-placed finish with a win over Argentina in the bronze medal match.

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