{"id":293212,"date":"2023-10-28T08:25:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-28T08:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=293212"},"modified":"2023-10-28T08:25:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T08:25:03","slug":"steve-borthwick-delighted-as-england-secure-bronze-with-win-over-argentina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/steve-borthwick-delighted-as-england-secure-bronze-with-win-over-argentina\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Borthwick \u2018delighted\u2019 as England secure bronze with win over Argentina"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
Steve Borthwick signed off an encouraging World Cup after England edged Argentina 26-23 at the Stade de France to claim third place.<\/p>\n
The Pumas paid the price for allowing England to build a 13-0 lead and while they fought back to control the second half, Borthwick\u2019s men held their nerve to send scrum-half Ben Youngs into Test retirement with a bronze medal.<\/p>\n
Their only defeat at France 2023 was the agonising 16-15 loss to South Africa in the semi-final.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m delighted for the players to get the win after they have worked so hard,\u201d Borthwick said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won six games out of seven and lost one game by one point to the current world champions and current world number one, which shows the progress of the team. It shows how the team has built during the tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying finals games at World Cups is important. In the last two World Cups this group of players have played six finals games and won four of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly we want to be in the final and winning the gold medal. That wasn\u2019t to be, but having finals experience has been important for this squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players should be very proud of their efforts and the challenges they have overcome. While things haven\u2019t been perfect, they find a way to win games.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we didn\u2019t last weekend \u2013 we lost by a point, which will hurt for a long time. But when the players have found themselves in tough circumstances they have found a way to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
With all neutrals at the Stade de France supporting Argentina and with Red Rose fans making the trip across The Channel in small numbers only, England played in the most hostile atmosphere they have encountered at this World Cup.<\/p>\n
Captain Owen Farrell was booed throughout and most noisily when he was lining up penalties and conversions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t surprised. It\u2019s usually like that here. When you play against France in Six Nations here, they don\u2019t cheer you when you\u2019re having a shot at goal!\u201d Farrell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit different here in France to how it is over in England when a kicker\u2019s taking a shot. But that\u2019s what it is \u2013 just different. That\u2019s no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Argentina head coach Michael Cheika felt that his Pumas did not get the rub of the green with referee Nic Berry, especially at the scrum.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game could have ended differently especially when you look at the final 15 minutes,\u201d Cheika said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did everything we could and we deserved more, both in terms of result and refereeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree or four scrums we were dominating and despite that we got no reward for it. For me that was very surprising.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be here on October 27 is very positive for the fans and for us. What is missing for us is excellence. It\u2019s hard to accept losing this game and draw any positives from it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that our trajectory over this World Cup will make Argentinians proud. We will come back stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n