{"id":292345,"date":"2023-10-19T22:26:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T22:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=292345"},"modified":"2023-10-19T22:26:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T22:26:20","slug":"chris-foy-steve-borthwick-is-set-to-fight-fire-with-fire-on-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/chris-foy-steve-borthwick-is-set-to-fight-fire-with-fire-on-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"CHRIS FOY: Steve Borthwick is set to fight fire with fire on Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>CHRIS FOY: Steve Borthwick is set to fight fire with fire against South Africa on Saturday as England look to deploy their very own &#8216;Bomb Squad&#8217;<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span>The Boks hold no fear for us, says England&#8217;s bullish lock Maro Itoje ahead of clash<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mail Sport&#8217;s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Steve Borthwick delivered a resounding statement yesterday about the depth of England\u2019s forward power, which could be summed up as \u2018we have a Bomb Squad, too\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>He did not utter those words, but that was the thrust of the message after the national coach named a reshuffled line-up for tomorrow\u2019s World Cup semi-final against South Africa.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the recall of Freddie Steward at full back, Borthwick opted to promote two horses for this particular course; Joe Marler at loosehead prop and George Martin in the second row, alongside Maro Itoje.<\/p>\n<p>While the Springboks have become renowned for their habit of deploying a formidable gang of heavyweight forwards from the bench to batter weary opponents, this was England showing that they can fight fire with fire. The plan is to have size and hard-hitting force early on, then have explosive pack reinforcements to come on in the second half.<\/p>\n<p>Marler is in ahead of Ellis Genge as a means of reinforcing the scrum and the same can be said for Martin \u2014 who is huge and a powerful tackler. Later, Genge, Kyle Sinckler and Ollie Chessum will be expected to offer plenty of clout too, but also enhanced mobility and handling as the game \u2014 at least in theory \u2014 opens up.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76771533-12651127-Steve_Borthwick_has_made_the_decision_to_recall_Freddie_Steward_-m-37_1697751762473.jpg\" height=\"468\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Steve Borthwick has made the decision to recall Freddie Steward in the position of full back<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76771539-12651127-Running_man_Ellis_Genge_will_look_to_rampage_forward_in_the_cruc-m-38_1697751826043.jpg\" height=\"478\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Running man: Ellis Genge will look to rampage forward in Saturday&#8217;s crucial semi-final clash<\/p>\n<p>To give him his due, Borthwick exuded more positivity and enthusiasm yesterday, and there was a hint about his bullish belief that England can stand up to the world champions\u2019 Bomb Squad when he said: \u2018They have a squad jam-packed full of power and size.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>STARTING XVs\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>ENGLAND<\/p>\n<p>Steward; May, Marchant, Tuilagi, Daly; Farrell (capt), Mitchell; Marler, George, Cole, Itoje, Martin, Lawes, Curry, Earl.<\/p>\n<p>Replacements: Dan, Genge, Sinckler, Chessum, Vunipola, Care, Ford, Lawrence.<\/p>\n<p>SOUTH AFRICA\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Willemse; Arendse, Kriel, De Allende, Kolbe; Libbok, Reinach; Kitshoff, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Etzebeth, Mostert, Kolisi (capt), Du Toit, Vermeulen.<\/p>\n<p>Replacements: Fourie, Nche, Koch, Snyman, Smith, De Klerk, Pollard, Le Roux<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;They are a good team to start and they\u2019ve got players coming off the bench who are very strong. But I think we\u2019ve got a pretty strong team as well, and we\u2019ve got a pretty strong bench.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The imposing 22-year-old Martin emerged as a promising rookie at Leicester under Borthwick, who said: \u2018I\u2019ve known him for a few years now; from a very young man to somebody who looks at home on the international stage.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He has come on to the pitch at second row and at six in this tournament. He has started a game in the pool stage and every minute he\u2019s been on the field he\u2019s performed \u2014 at key moments for the team.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The front-row boys always talk about giving the second rows pretty direct feedback on how much weight they\u2019re giving.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;And they\u2019re usually pretty positive about the weight that George Martin gives. He\u2019s a very athletic young man. Since I started working with him a few years ago, every challenge I\u2019ve put in front of him he has just embraced and ripped right into. So I\u2019m looking forward to seeing him go. He\u2019s played really well through this tournament.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Asked about his new lock partner, Itoje offered his own endorsement, adding: \u2018George is a tough man and a tough tackler who enjoys the scraps.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>At the other end of the experience scale is veteran Harlequins prop Marler, who will be expected to go toe-to-toe with South Africa\u2019s mighty tighthead, Frans Malherbe. Borthwick is confident that he is up to the task, but emphasised that the rotation of his looseheads is about having different weapons for different periods of the game.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76772459-12651127-image-a-34_1697751699342.jpg\" height=\"431\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76771535-12651127-Kyle_Sinckler_will_be_expected_to_offer_plenty_of_clout_off_the_-m-39_1697752751812.jpg\" height=\"515\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Kyle Sinckler will be expected to offer plenty of clout off the bench against a physical SA<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Bringing Joe back into the squad after some time away, he has been an incredible influence,\u2019 said the head coach. \u2018For me, it\u2019s always about the balance of who\u2019s to start and who is to finish. The combination of the two sets of front-row forwards that we have is important. Ellis was terrific last week. Joe to start and Ellis to finish is the right combination this week.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Both of these players (Marler and Genge) are top-quality scrummagers and that\u2019s really important given the strength of the South African scrum.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We know they are rated the best scrum in the world, so we know we are going to need to scrum well throughout the game.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>There will be so much emphasis on the battle upfront this weekend. If England are to have any chance at all of upsetting the Boks, their pack have to front up, but they will also need Steward to dominate the aerial contest, as the Leicester full back has done so often in the past. He is back in the XV after being omitted for the quarter-final win over Fiji \u2014 and Borthwick offered an insight into the competitive instincts behind Steward\u2019s genial demeanour.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76771537-12651127-Ollie_Chessum_will_offer_an_enhanced_mobility_during_the_latter_-a-36_1697751699343.jpg\" height=\"410\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ollie Chessum will offer an enhanced mobility during the latter stages of the semi-final game<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Before my first game coaching Leicester, I was going through the selection process and this young man, Freddie Steward, was new to the squad, out of the academy,\u2019 he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I didn\u2019t pick him. I watched his face when I told him he wasn\u2019t picked for that game in 2020, and I thought, \u201cThis guy wants the challenge. He wants it, he\u2019s ready for it, it doesn\u2019t matter how old he is; he is ready for this\u201d. So the next week I put him in and from that point on he has been brilliant.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Steward has reclaimed the No 15 shirt from Marcus Smith, who was ruled out due to concussion, after suffering a clash of heads in the Fiji game. If England claim a shock win tomorrow, the Harlequins maverick should be in contention for the final.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He passed the first part of the HIA (head injury assessment) process, which meant he finished the game,\u2019 said Borthwick. \u2018Then there are subsequent parts of the HIA process and one part of that, he did not pass. It was confirmed to me he was unavailable for selection. He is perfectly fine in terms of symptoms and we would expect him to be available for selection after this weekend.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12651127\/CHRIS-FOY-Steve-Borthwick-set-fight-fire-fire-against-South-Africa-Saturday-England-look-deploy-Bomb-Squad.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>CHRIS FOY: Steve Borthwick is set to fight fire with fire against South Africa on Saturday as England look to deploy their very own &#8216;Bomb <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/chris-foy-steve-borthwick-is-set-to-fight-fire-with-fire-on-saturday\/\" title=\"CHRIS FOY: Steve Borthwick is set to fight fire with fire on Saturday\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292344,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rugby-union"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - 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