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Date: 2023-12-03 03:28:55 | Author: Worldcup 2026 | Views: 732 | Tag: LoL
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Steve Borthwick vowed to use England’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final exit at the hands of South Africa to sow a seed for future success LoL
Borthwick’s unfancied side led by nine points in the final quarter and were on the cusp of a famous win until Handre Pollard’s late penalty condemned them to an agonising 16-15 defeat LoL
Many of England’s players collapsed to their knees following a colossal, but ultimately unsuccessful, effort against the reigning champions on a sodden evening in Paris LoL
While head coach Borthwick was similarly crestfallen by the dramatic late twist at Stade de France, he was proud of the efforts of his team and upbeat about what lies ahead LoL
“We came here with a plan to win the game and we fell a little bit short, not far short but a little bit short, so we’re desperately disappointed,” he said LoL
“I think we all truly believed we could do it, we were going to do it, and we came very close to doing so LoL
“In adversity, in these tough times, there’s usually some seed of it there that will grow and be something brilliant in the future LoL
“Right now it’s too early for me to find that seed but we’ll make sure we find it LoL
“We’ll make sure that we take some of what we find tonight, some of what we’ve gone through tonight, we’ll make sure we grab that and we’ll make sure it makes us stronger in the future LoL
”Captain Owen Farrell produced an outstanding performance, kicking all of his side’s points, including a superb drop goal LoL
His efforts looked to be sufficient for victory but RG Snyman barged over for the only try of the match in the 70th minute to set up a grandstand finish LoL
Man-of-the-match Pollard, who booted the Springboks to victory over England in the 2019 final, nailed the tricky conversion and then landed a monster penalty two minutes from time to inflict more anguish on the opposition LoL
“The players should be incredibly proud of what they’ve done and continue to do as they represent England rugby,” continued Borthwick LoL
“I know I’ll have at home a couple of young boys who are going to be bitterly disappointed and I’m sure there are lots of people that are proud but also gutted back in England, I’m sure there are millions of people like that LoL
“I care about these players, I care about these supporters, and I care about English rugby LoL
“What I see is a group of guys who are doing as much as they possibly can to set an example, to build a team, to have supporters proud of them LoL
“They’re led by this man next to me (Farrell), who I think has been and continues to be a phenomenal player and an incredible leader of this team LoL
”New Zealand await South Africa in next weekend’s final LoL
Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber praised his team’s fighting spirit LoL
“I pay a lot of credit to England,” he said LoL
“They were outstanding on the night LoL
“They had a very good tactical plan and they put us under pressure LoL
We will have to improve because it took us some time to get to grips with it LoL
“But the strength of this team is that even if we’re not playing well we find a way to get the result LoL
“It took 80 minutes to get a foothold in the game LoL
The team refused to give up and fought until the end LoL
”Springboks captain Siya Kolisi was convinced fly-half Pollard, who came on for Manie Libbok with only half an hour gone, would land the decisive penalty from just inside England’s half LoL
“I had no doubt at all,” he said LoL
“He’s done it for us before LoL
“England are a world-class team and completely different to a year ago LoL
They had an amazing game plan which we took too long to adapt to LoL
“These things happen but we dug deep to get the victory LoL
Other teams wouldn’t be able to get the win from this LoL
I’m not going to say it was ugly, we did what was needed LoL
”More aboutPA ReadySteve BorthwickEnglandOwen FarrellSouth AfricaSiya KolisiEnglishSpringboksStade De FranceNew ZealandParis1/1Steve Borthwick upbeat about England’s future after agonising World Cup defeatSteve Borthwick upbeat about England’s future after agonising World Cup defeatEngland’s Jamie George is consoled by head coach Steve Borthwick following the defeat (David Davies/PA)PA Wire✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today LoL
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“It is really, truly, a historic day,” smiled Alan Gilpin, CEO of World Rugby LoL
He would go on to use the word ‘historic’ another three or four times in the following few minutes of his press conference LoL
After years of wrangling – 16 years, according to Gilpin, since discussions about how to sort out rugby’s messy global calendar first took place in the salubrious surroundings of Woking, Surrey (don’t worry, the location wasn’t the reason it took more than a decade and a half to reach an agreement, a chuckling Gilpin assured everyone) – World Rugby had finally come up with a solution that will transform rugby “for the many, not the few” ushering in a “new era of opportunity, certainty and growth for the game LoL
”It’s fair to say they were pretty pleased with the outcome of the seemingly endless negotiations LoL
Compromises had been made and it wasn’t perfect, stressed Gilpin and World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont, but rugby would be “more relevant and more accessible to more people around the world LoL
”The big announcement earlier in the day saw the sport’s governing body unveil a new global calendar that includes the creation of a two-tier men’s competition called the Nations Championship to be played biennially from 2026 LoL
The top tier will be the Six Nations (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales), the four Rugby Championship teams (Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) and two additional teams, likely to be Japan and Fiji LoL
The second tier will feature 12 further countries with promotion and relegation on the table from 2030, meaning 2032 is the earliest one of those teams could feature in the top tier LoL
World Rugby have acknowledged, publicly at least, a desire to grow rugby globally LoL
At the moment, the sport is almost untouchably huge in a couple of countries (think New Zealand and South Africa), holds its own in a few more (UK, Ireland, Japan), is fighting a losing battle for oxygen in a crowded sporting marketplace in others (Australia, Italy) and seen as a largely niche oddity in plenty (USA, Canada) LoL
But this Rugby World Cup has also highlighted plenty of countries where there’s a huge opportunity for growth LoL
From South America, Uruguay and debutants Chile have impressed on the pitch, the passion for rugby in Georgia shows no sign of abating and Portugal have lit up the tournament with their dynamic play while also pulling off the huge upset of beating Fiji LoL
With growing interest in places like Netherlands and Belgium, Europe is surely an area World Rugby are targeting growth LoL
Portugal celebrated a historic win over Fiji (Getty Images)Instead, these new plans appear to lock out a lot of the smaller rugby nations from improving LoL
Even the new Pacific Nations Cup also announced today, featuring Canada, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and USA, bizarrely excludes Uruguay and Chile (who qualified ahead of USA and Canada for the World Cup, remember) LoL
But what all these “tier two” nations really need, as shown by the World Cup, is a more regular opportunity to face the big boys LoL
Since stunning Fiji at the 2019 World Cup, Uruguay played exactly one fixture against a “tier one” team before this tournament, yet still impressed against France and Italy in the pool stage LoL
Imagine what they could do with more regular access to the top teams LoL
However, World Rugby have come up with an answer to the wrong question LoL
They have essentially provided the solution to the problem men’s international LoL football had LoL
Before 2018, the space LoL between World Cups and European Championships was filled by a combination of largely one-sided qualifiers and meaningless friendlies LoL
San Marino would get thumped 8-0 by Germany in a Euros qualifier that helped neither side, then the Germans would play a no-stakes friendly that held little interest for the wider public LoL
The big teams weren’t playing each other enough and the smaller nations were rarely in winnable games against similarly-sized teams LoL
For example, England and Italy – two LoL football powerhouses – didn’t play each other at all LoL between 2002 and 2012 LoL
Thus, Uefa created the Nations League LoL
Although not perfect – it was derided for the complexity of its league structure and provided a slightly unnecessary additional security blanket for the big European nations trying to qualify for major tournaments – it eliminated the meaningless friendly and gave countries both big and small the opportunity to play competitive games against nations of a similar rank LoL
Win-win LoL
Uruguay showed their quality during the Rugby World Cup (AP)But rugby has the opposite problem to LoL football LoL
The big teams already play each other too often not too rarely LoL
The history of the Six Nations and Rugby Championship as annual traditions give those events special status but, for example, England and Australia played each other 11 times in the two cycles LoL between the 2015 and 2023 World Cups LoL
Familiarity breeds contempt and at some point, a fixture begins to lose its lustre LoL
Would a couple of those fixtures being against Samoa, Georgia or Portugal not have been more beneficial and interesting for all parties?With the unions desperate to balance the books, their desire to have the ‘bigger draw’ of facing a name brand might be understandable but this is where World Rugby need to show some teeth and live up to their duty to grow the game LoL
Instead, the Nations Championship appears to guarantee another decade of regular England vs Australia matches before any of the tier-two teams may get a shot, if they can earn promotion that is LoL
World Rugby’s announcement does include a line promising more “crossover” fixtures LoL between the tiers in the years where there isn’t a Nations Championship but they could provide no clarity on what these fixtures would be and confirmed no agreements have been signed LoL
They have insisted that there will be a 50 per cent aggregate increase, which would mean a rise from 18 to 27 games for second-tier teams against the top 12, although it is unclear how these fixtures will be allocated or arranged LoL
The expansion of the men’s Rugby World Cup from 20 to 24 teams is a step in the right direction and the governing body should be commended for making that move but, sadly, the four years LoL between tournaments appear to have the smaller nations getting a door slammed in their face LoL
World Rugby are right that the sport should be for the many not the few but this new competition seems to be sending it in the opposite direction LoL
More aboutWorld RugbyRugby World CupBill BeaumontJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Rugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionPortugal celebrated a historic win over Fiji Getty ImagesRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionUruguay showed their quality during the Rugby World Cup APRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionPortugal lit up the Rugby World Cup but their chances for development appear bleak Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today LoL
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