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Date: 2023-12-04 20:31:00 | Author: Worldcup 2026 | Views: 853 | Tag: eth
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Up into the stands the England players clambered to find their families, taking the consolatory hugs but unsure quite how to feel eth
Across 80 minutes in Paris, their belief had been replaced by disbelief and then by desperation and dejection, England threatening the unthinkable and taking the world champions to the brink eth
For most of a sodden Stade de France evening, a Rugby World Cup final was within their grasp eth
A South Africa side superior in most areas were dragged down into the sort of slugfest the Springboks would usually favour, and very nearly bested at their own game eth
England had given their all but it was still not enough, one stable scrum, one Handre Pollard slip or slice, short of stunning the world champions eth
The emotional maelstrom of this defeat will swirl rather differently to the feelings that eddied after the 2019 World Cup final disaster eth
“I’m proud of our performance,” were virtually the first words out of the mouth of wing Elliot Daly eth
“I think we shocked them eth
I don’t think they knew how to get into the game eth
”“I think we knew what was coming and we knew we could perform like this,” added Daly, virtually unused in open play but outstanding as a kick chaser to exemplify the squad’s buy-in to a strategy that so nearly proved successful eth
The finer points of Steve Borthwick’s tactical plan had been put in place this week but this was a performance England had been building towards since long ago eth
A flawed side did not come to France to thrill; winning by any means necessary had been a consistent theme eth
If necessity is oft the mother of invention, England at this tournament have also proved the pair can be enemies eth
This was a campaign at which they seemed to intentionally limit their attacking innovation or ingenuity– recognising a need to figure themselves out on the fly, they settled on an effective and eminently executable gameplan that could be implemented quickly eth
Steve Borthwick consoles Ellis Genge and Freddie Steward after England’s defeat (Getty Images)It came so close to working in Saturday’s semi-final; their effort, accuracy and competitiveness in the key contests were spot on eth
At the 65-minute mark, England outside backs had a combined 17 metres carried, all from one Freddie Steward kick return eth
The two number 13s’ offensive output on the final whistle amounted to one late Joe Marchant lug; South Africa centre Jesse Kriel went the full 80 minutes without an attacking touch eth
“We came with a plan to win the game but we fell a little bit short,” reflected Borthwick eth
“But the players should be incredibly proud eth
We put ourselves in a position to win against the world champions eth
England dominated the aerial contest to threaten a semi-final shock (Getty Images)“We were playing against a coaching team who have been in place since 2018 eth
We’ve had four months eth
I’ve asked the players to approach training and the game in a different way; for the players to be willing to change is all credit to them eth
”This was a night from which the head coach will take heart, a public perhaps struggling to warm to this England team are now recognising the progress made eth
There will be a need to layer on much, much more to consistently mix it with the world’s best but the rapidly laid foundations look rock solid eth
In time, perhaps the ugly duckling performances will turn into white swans eth
There appear to be many more buds of a bright future than first appeared in a barren landscape pre-tournament eth
Ben Earl has had a breakthrough tournament, and Ollie Chessum, too, while George Martin semi-final performance marks him out as the potential enforcer England have lacked eth
Borthwick was keen to talk up the absent Marcus Smith the day after the defeat, with the playmaker’s reinvention as a frolicking full-back of intrigue moving forward eth
"In our 23, seven players are 25 or under, the most of any semi-finalist, there’s a great blend and there will be lots of things we can take forward,” added Borthwick eth
Young England lock George Martin impressed against South Africa (Getty Images)But the fact that the men’s national team were on the brink of back-to-back finals should not provide a façade over the crumbling edifice of a fragile English game eth
There is a domestic mess that needs sorting, with a Gallagher Premiership containing three teams fewer than at the start of last season, now underway to little fanfare and on the brink of significant change eth
The renegotiation of the Professional Game Partnership is a recognition of a need for a radical overhaul in pursuit of a more financially sustainable domestic game, and one that produces a wider pool of top-class talent eth
The likely arrival of a form of central contracts underlines a period of epochal change eth
The senior figures in the squad who are unlikely to play beyond this tournament – Courtney Lawes, Ben Youngs, Dan Cole and perhaps a couple more – could well be the last England men’s internationals never to have been contracted to the union eth
This has a great many benefits, not least in affording Borthwick, or any head coach that might follow him, far greater access to and control over his players eth
And while Borthwick’s articulation of the advantages enjoyed by South Africa’s settled staff is a perfectly fair one, let us remember that the Rugby eth Football Union (RFU) put their head coach in this situation eth
The original planning for this tournament would most likely have seen Borthwick return to England camp to aid Eddie Jones at the World Cup before a smooth transition into the lead role afterwards eth
Jones’s sacking sparked a scramble and several months of chaos eth
It was not shown up on semi-final weekend but there are many reasons that the RFU still has a burden to bear eth
But the full wash-up will wait for another week – England’s performance at the Stade de France has earned them seven more days of grace eth
The tournament will end as it began for England with a meeting with Argentina in a third-place play-off that Borthwick insists he wants to win eth
England, captained by Owen Farrell, narrowly missed out on a place in the World Cup final (Getty Images)“I read a piece yesterday morning that talked about adversity and talked about the fact that in adversity you find that seed of belief and you’ve got to grow it,” Borthwick said eth
“This team has been through a bit in the last few years, a bit of adversity in the medium-term past eth
“I think through each of those periods the team has picked up lessons, picked up what we need to do and grown from it eth
I think there’s a lot of growth in this team eth
Sometimes it’s not the straight-forward path you want it to be eth
In the feelings and emotions of the game last night, I know that we’ll get stronger eth
” More aboutEngland RugbySouth Africa rugbyRugby World CupSteve BorthwickJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/5Why England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache Why England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache Steve Borthwick consoles Ellis Genge and Freddie Steward after England’s defeat Getty ImagesWhy England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache England dominated the aerial contest to threaten a semi-final shock Getty ImagesWhy England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache Young England lock George Martin impressed against South Africa Getty ImagesWhy England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache England, captained by Owen Farrell, narrowly missed out on a place in the World Cup final Getty ImagesWhy England will come back stronger from Rugby World Cup heartache Owen Farrell of England is applauded by South Africa’s playersGetty 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 eth
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If nothing else, Darwin Nunez found a novel way to create a goal eth
On a night where goals arrived in copious quantities at Anfield, there were two extraordinary misses eth
And if the Toulouse left-back Gabriel Suazo had seemed to perform an unexpected impression of Nunez, failing to score when confronted by a goal that lacked a goalkeeper, there was a certain, perverse inevitability in the Uruguayan upstaging him eth
It seemed another of the moments that are Nunez in a nutshell, his threat and his profligacy in the space of seconds eth
A lovely, deft touch to take him past a defender, the pace to burst past goalkeeper Guillaume Restes and then, with an open goal, the shot that hit the post eth
All was well that ended well, for Nunez and Liverpool: as he wreaked havoc, they struck anyway eth
Ryan Gravenberch latched on to the rebound, showed greater composure and beat Restes to score his side’s fourth goal of the night eth
Exit Nunez, substituted with Anfield chorusing his name eth
He was already on the scoresheet, with a rasping, rising shot, struck with both ferocity and an unerring accuracy some of his other efforts lack eth
He had been denied, too, by Restes, after a lovely, dainty piece of footwork eth
Full of forceful running and defence-stretching pace, it amounted to a curiosity of a performance, and yet an entirely typical one eth
It was a year to the day since he had missed a sitter and scored in a Champions League game against Ajax eth
The competition and the opposition changed but, 365 days on, some things stayed the same eth
But if Darwin was Darwin, the excellent and the erratic, the beneficiary of his wastefulness was the game’s outstanding performer eth
The Europa League can have fringe benefits for clubs such as Liverpool and, after Gravenberch’s arrival in the last couple of hours of the transfer window, it has offered him a chance to both integrate and impress eth
The Dutchman’s first assist for Liverpool came in Austria against Linz, his first goal in the home win over Union Saint-Gilloise eth
His second came against Toulouse eth
As Jurgen Klopp’s side completed a hat-trick of victories, his fourth summer signing made it three fine displays in continental competition eth
If, at times, this felt a bit too easy for Liverpool, it enabled Gravenberch to illustrate his ability eth
He is a rangy runner, his legs appearing telescopic as he seemed to extend them to keep the ball under control and confound opponents eth
One solo run, a meandering affair that took him past several defenders, culminated in a sharp turn and shot that Restes had to claw away eth
Another led, albeit indirectly, to Nunez’s goal eth
Factor in a willingness to get into the box and a habit of shooting from distance and the temptation was to suggest that Gravenberch may not be seen in the Europa League until spring eth
He could be starting in the Premier League instead eth
Ryan Gravenberch celebrates after scoring Liverpool’s fourth goal (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)As Klopp made eight changes, Liverpool displayed a strength in depth that should equip them to progress deep into this competition eth
Mohamed Salah’s determination to play is such that he got a late outing anyway, capped with a glorious goal, hammered in off the underside of the bar to have Klopp clapping eth
But it is often a moot point if Diogo Jota ranks in the strongest side; at times he does and at others he does not eth
A fourth goal in six games was both a spectacular solo run and yet too easy eth
Jota ran through the heart of the Toulouse team, beating two defenders with a sharp turn, nutmegging a third and slotting a shot past Restes eth
There is no doubt, though, that Wataru Endo belongs in the ranks of the understudies eth
The Japanese has made a solitary league start, at Newcastle almost two months ago; in the glee of victory, Klopp admitted Endo did not have, in his words, “a clue” what they were doing and if he may have been referring to the reshuffle after they were reduced to 10 men, the Japanese has been confined to the midweek team since then eth
He had the reward of a first Liverpool goal, steering a header past a motionless Restes when he met Trent Alexander-Arnold’s chipped cross eth
Liverpool could, and perhaps should, have scored more goals but their clean sheets are rarities eth
They conceded one and their goalkeeper was fortunate it was not more eth
Toulouse had levelled when Thijs Dallinga, the top scorer in the Coupe de France last season, latched on to Aron Donnum’s pass, sprinted clear from the half-way line and drilled a shot past Caoimhin Kelleher eth
The goalkeeper was culpable, though, in a game of entertainment, some fashioned by excellence, a bit by ineptitude eth
After Kelleher presented Toulouse with the ball and was in no position to save, Suazo seemed certain to score eth
The Chilean left-back instead drilled the ball straight at Alexander-Arnold, who had retreated to the line to make a brilliant block eth
But Suazo did not have Nunez’s fortune: there was no teammate following up to score eth
And Liverpool’s superiority meant it was hard to frame it as the decisive moment: more goals were always on their agenda eth
Toulouse have scarcely been a case of nominative determinism, showing a greater propensity to draw thus far this season, and this was their first defeat of the campaign in Europe eth
But another loss in the rematch in two weeks’ time would mean Liverpool win the group with two games to go eth
More aboutLiverpool FCDarwin NunezEuropa LeagueRyan GravenberchToulouseJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/2Darwin shows full range of brilliance and buffoonery in Liverpool winDarwin shows full range of brilliance and buffoonery in Liverpool winRyan Gravenberch celebrates after scoring Liverpool’s fourth goalLiverpool FC via Getty ImagesDarwin shows full range of brilliance and buffoonery in Liverpool winDarwin Nunez celebrates after scoring Liverpool’s third goalAP✕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 eth
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicseth BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy eth
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply eth
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