2023-10-15 20:48:00
England trembled, but reached the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup. Moribund at the opening of this competition, the XV de la Rose found some color to finally qualify for the sixth semi-final in its history after being scared until the end against the Fijians in reaction (30-24 ) Sunday October 15, in Marseille.
But he will undoubtedly have to find recipes other than a reliable scorer (Owen Farrell) to hope to beat the winner of the clash between France and South Africa on Saturday at the Stade de France, offered in the evening on the grass of St Denis. Two opponents with whom they have scores to settle: the spanking inflicted by the Blues at Twickenham in the Six Nations tournament in March (53-10) and the correction in the final of the 2019 World Cup in Japan (32-12) by the Springboks .
“In Fiji, the sick come back to life when we win,” explained Seremaïa Baï, Fijian assistant coach, this week. But during this 2023 World Cup, it is indeed the XV de la Rose which resurrected itself by emerging undefeated from its group D before erasing the humiliation suffered at the end of August in its lair of Twickenham, when it bowed for the first time in its history (30-22) against the “Flying Fijians” during the last preparation match. Steve Borthwick’s men, however, scared themselves until the end, letting the Fijians come back to their level (24-24) ten minutes from the final whistle.
Fiji had five minutes of madness
After two almost copy-pasted attempts from their centers, Tuilagi (14th) then Marchant (23rd), in bulldozer mode, it was the foot of the opener Farrell who furnished the scoreboard. And the Fijians seemed too inconsistent to really disturb them, with the only flash of magic in the first half being this pass between the legs of the opener Botitu for Mata’s try (28th), recovering a trailing ball on the ground about ten meters from the English line.
But, in the space of five minutes, everything almost changed for the XV de la Rose. Strong try from pillar Ravai (64th), then another try from opener Botitu, after a superb full-field breakthrough from his second line Nasilasila (69th): with the two transformations, the Fijians were back on level terms. And England had conceded as many tries (3) in a single match as since the start of the World Cup, while its defense seemed in place…
But it was ultimately the foot of the opener Owen Farrell, with a drop first (72nd) then a final penalty (77th), which sent England to the semi-final, under the gaze of the Princess of Wales Kate . A Farrell who has taken a step further compared to the legend Jonny Wilkinson as top scorer in the history of the XV de la Rose (1,206 points against 1,179 now).
A lenient draw for the English
“We were in control for the vast majority of the time, but there was a sequence where they scored tries in quick succession that only they could score,” commented Steve Borthwick after the match: “But I I’m happy with the way my players handled it afterwards. »
“I’m a little speechless,” conceded Simon Raiwalui, the Fijian coach: “But I couldn’t be more proud of the boys. They built something for the next generation, a foundation for us to build on. We are working for the long term, for the 2027 and 2031 World Cups.”
We therefore arrived in the semi-final, thanks to a favorable draw and a group D which had not offered him any strong opponent, except a combative Argentina who also qualified in the semi-finals after her exploit against the Welsh on Saturday, the English therefore have a week to progress further. And hope to get a fifth place in the final.
If the odds of the bookmakers will undoubtedly not be on their side, the figures are more reassuring: England have only been beaten once in their five semi-finals, in 1995, defeated 45 -29 by Jonah Lomu’s All Blacks. And they beat France in 2003 and 2007…
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