{"id":292246,"date":"2023-10-19T18:39:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T18:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=292246"},"modified":"2023-10-19T18:39:37","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T18:39:37","slug":"england-coach-hits-back-at-critics-after-booking-spot-in-rugby-world-cup-semis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/england-coach-hits-back-at-critics-after-booking-spot-in-rugby-world-cup-semis\/","title":{"rendered":"England coach hits back at critics after booking spot in Rugby World Cup semis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby World Cup: George tells England to relish Fiji clash<\/h3>\n

England boss Steve Borthwick has insisted that he does not \u201ccare\u201d about the public perception of himself and his team after reaching the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup. Borthwick\u2019s side defeated darlings Fiji 30-24 on Sunday as they fought off a scare in Marseille to move within two wins from lifting the title.<\/p>\n

Many neutrals had been backing Fiji, having won over the rugby world with their swashbuckling style of play – especially in the victory over England in Twickenham this summer. Borthwick\u2019s side had been painted as villains in some corners, but that suggestion did not seem to phase the head coach as he reflected on reaching the semi-finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really care what other people think of us, I care about the development of the team,\u201d Borthwick said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going into the match, Billy Vunipola and Jamie George insisted that they had no qualms with being the bad guys if it meant they continued to progress through the tournament. \u201cI would not say Fiji is their second favourite, I would say England is their first least-favourite team,\u201d Vunipola said. \u201cIn terms of being public enemy number one, we are happy to take that mantle.\u201d<\/p>\n

JUST IN <\/strong> England survive scare in blood-soaked Fiji win to reach Rugby World Cup semis[REPORT] <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While George added: \u201cOutside of England, I think people probably don\u2019t really like us too much. And we\u2019re OK with that. It\u2019s not like we sit in meetings and talk about it\u2019s us against the world. I think the main focus is making sure our fans are very proud of the work we are doing. Anything outside of that we aren\u2019t too bothered about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their sentiments are clearly backed up by Borthwick, as England will go into their semi with South Africa as underdogs after the Springbok\u2019s 29-28 win over holders France on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

England will need captain Owen Farrell at his best in order to reach the final, as Borthwick and his \u2018public enemy number one\u2019 team are more than willing to take on that tag as the coach lavished praise on his skipper after victory over Fiji.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he is a fantastic leader, he\u2019s the kind of leader I know I\u2019d want to follow on to the pitch,\u201d Borthwick said of Farrell. \u201cI think he\u2019s a brilliant player who thrives in the contest, and these big occasions, he just gets even better.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019re very fortunate to have Owen as a player in this team and as our leader. And he should be very proud of his performance and the way he led this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buy all of your Rugby World Cup 2023 programmes here.<\/em><\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rugby World Cup: George tells England to relish Fiji clash England boss Steve Borthwick has insisted that he does not \u201ccare\u201d about the public perception […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nEngland coach hits back at critics after booking spot in Rugby World Cup semis - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/england-coach-hits-back-at-critics-after-booking-spot-in-rugby-world-cup-semis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"England coach hits back at critics after booking spot in Rugby World Cup semis - 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