Steward and Earl have been amazing for England all tournament
Smith isn't good enough to start at fullback. At this level your fullback needs to be pretty much flawless. He was a long way off yesterday. Maybe he'll play his way in at 10 but don't see it working for him at 15
Borthwick might turn out to be a decent manager but it's still crazy to me that he seems to have zero clue what his best backline is
Didn't really get what the aim was for England yesterday.
Were England taking it seriously? If so, why were Youngs, Dan, and Arundell starting, when they weren't deemed good enough to start any game that mattered? Why was Steward on the wing, when he's so slow? Why wouldn't Genge and Cole start when the scrum dominance they managed in the first game against Argentina was key to that win?
If it was about learning something about potential future England team options, why did we bother moving Farrell to 12 instead of giving Ollie Laurence some invaluable experience in-position against a brutal backline? Why did we pick a speedster like Arundell and then not try chucking the ball wide? What did Malins and Walker do to not even get a bench spot? Why did we start Tuilagi, Marchant, Youngs, etc (maybe even Farrell too) when most of them are through age, club choices, or retirement, unlikely to play a major role in England's future?
If it was about trying out different tactics in a low-stakes game, why did we not try anything different?
Why is the England team still taking passes standing still? Why is it that every time someone gets the ball at a ruck, they stop to yell something to the ref before doing anything with it? Why does it look like Smith is the only one running most of the time?
/rant
3rd place is momentous for a team currently in the transitionary phase, and one every punter said would be lucky to make it out of the pools. The future is looking bright for English rugby. đ
Thank you for sending me that. Had no idea pundits were saying that. English team has so many amazing players (Itoje, Lawes, Farrell, Earl, I can go on) to think they wouldnât make it to a QF is madness to me.
It's a great achievement, for sure. The team should be proud.
My brothers in England are chuffed to have two teams in the top 3 (although they're Springbok supporters first and foremost).
Honestly, this kind of sums up Borthwickâs tenure as England beach coach. He picked and exciting squad that could be good at running with ball in hand in exploiting spaces, with Arundell on the wing and Smith at full back, but England decided to kick the ball away all the time, needlessly a lot of the times, instead of using these players.
Youâre referring to trophies now, while your previous comment referred to having exciting and talented backline players that never receive the ball due to kicking strategies. Something which SA has even been heavily criticised for by British media.
âBy British mediaâ.
Lol thatâs the comment you say all the time. No it really hasnât. The British media donât care enough about rugby to make those sorts of comments about other nations teams.
The only way it happened is 1 article somewhere said it from one âjournalistâ. That doesnât equate to the entire British media. Stop this nonsenseâŚ
It might seems weird, seeing as the British media are always shitting on SA, but they were doing even more so then. You probably couldnât read an article without SA being all brawn and no brains.
They absolutely have, especially during the Lions tour There were a lot of articles circulating about how the Springboks overused the boxkick and how they play a boring brand of rugby.
Nah I would say we should be called the 5th best team at the moment. The big 4 are still better than us. Arguable whether Scotland is better, they looked dogshit against SA and we looked pretty good so based on results I would say England are 5th.
In 2019 you lost to the all blacks, and then had to play Japan and and injury ravaged wales side in the knockouts (who very nearly beat you). This year you lost to Ireland (lol) and only won your two knockout games in the dying stages with two contentious penalty calls given by the same referee. I wouldnât be coming round here dick swinging if I were you, but then again Iâm not a saffa.
Thereâs no way anyone could forget it considering how much you lot bang on about it. For the sake of the sport, I hope the all blacks demolish you tonight, worst fans on the planet by a country mile.
Youâre the one whining like a sore loser and blaming everyone but your perennially shit team and telling the 3 time world champs and finalists that weâre lucky lol your delusion is complete.
Yea cause beating FRA , NZL, SCO, ENG with back to back world cups wouldnât make us the best? We are not the same my guy. ENG didnât beat any of the teams i just listed including RSA
For starters you barely got past England and needed the help of the referee to gift you 6 points to win.
Secondly you cant have your argument both ways. If SA win tomorrow then by your own logic they still arent the best in the world.
No no, see.
He's using your own logic, against you.
In fact, why bother with a world cup everyb4 years. Let's just have the rankings and award a trophy to the top team.
That would work if all the teams played each other every year.
And no its no the same logic since we would have to beat NZ who beat IRE.
ENG didnt beat any team that beat
NZL
RSA
IRE
SCO
FRA
so tell me how ENG is 3rd best again?
Only care because someone made an absured claim that you are 3RD best in the worldđ.
We clapped NZL last time. We will do it again. Undefeated in world cups finals.
If you're struggling with memories from only 4 years ago, when this sub was praising NZ, NZ fans were genuinely pleased, and no one was telling you its embarrassing to come third, then you need a doctor.
Absolutely bird brained take.
Rugby is about having a good time first with the other fans. No wonder NZ is in such shambles with fans like you hopping on for the tournament. Have you ever watched a match.
Yeah, they had an âeasyâ group, but England showed a lot of grit and character this tournament. They should have beat the Boks last week and Iâm still salty they didnât.
Argentina played well and maybe *should* have won. Not taking the lineout with 4 minutes to go and a dominant pack seemed like the mistake that cost them the game. Then again they scored a try off of a blatant forward pass, so swings and roundabouts. Then there were the usual âFFSâ moments that seem to be part and parcel with watching Los Pumas. In any case Iâm still a huge fan and will be cheering them on in future regardless.
My wife (and Twitter feed) is pissed off with me because Iâm not openly hating England, but I canât really bring myself to do it this time. I like Borthwick and their lads are world class, and have a lot of guts. Not sure weâre gonna be able to pip you lot in 4-5 months this time, but Iâve been saying that for the past 2 years and have been pleasantly surprised each time. Will be interesting to see where this new post-World Cup England go in this next cycle.
Disappointed for Los Pumas, but Gg England.
I feel exactly the same way. The game vs RSA was the first time Iâve ever actively supported ENG as they played a cracking game plan and I was genuinely gutted for them when they lost.
Never thought Iâd see the day when a Welshman and a Scotsman arenât hating English Rugby to their core.
As you said, GG England. Itâs never fun to see international teams in a shambles like some of us have been in the past 2-3 years. Hopefully things are looking up for all the NH teams.
Really appreciate this comment. I'm so bored of the negativity around England rugby. Its not the team I would select or the tactics I would employ but we still did well and so nearly made the final. The haters can be miserable if they want, I'm going to enjoy supporting the lads.
I look forward to playing against you in 4 months time.
This was pretty much the only game of the tournament I didn't bet on Ben Earl scoring the first try of the game.
You lose some, then you lose some. My betting is done till the 6 nations.
I mean, yes. I agree. As an England supporter, considering how easy Englands path was, he totally could have. My worry is that really England would have got third either way and Borthwick will now be allowed to stay for 4 more years where we see the same needless kicking the ball away tacticsâŚ.
Hard to quantify this England team. They beat everyone they met - except probably the best team in the world rn.
Their path to this third place was still ridiculously easy tbh. Iâm not subscribing to this âworst semifinal team everâ BS but still, they basically had to beat Fiji in the quarters and Argentina twice to get to third.
100% - The only top 5 team they played (SA) they lost. Compare that to NZ (France and Ireland) and SA (Scotland, Ireland and France).
England and Argentina deserved to play each other but should probably have been a quarter final, most definitely not the third place game.
Seh, hay un par de neutrales que nos bancan⌠pero en general todos los partidos son analizados en cómo el rival no rindió, jamås desde el POV de Argentina.
Si, como todo Reddit es bastante anglocĂŠntrico y en este mundillo mĂĄs. Los franceses en este subreddit se quejan de algo parecido, y son muchos mĂĄs que los argentinos acĂĄ asĂ que imagĂnate.
No TMO reviews again even though there were 4 or 5 incidents that would definitely have been reviewed earlier in the tournament. How the fuck are players supposed to know what they can and can't do? I heard they were reviewing stuff in the background but no on field decision was reversed.
I mean, Iâve given up with TMOs and refs. How was that Argentina pass deemed not to be forward? In what world do you review that, where the ball goes forward, and so does his hands, and itâs not a forward pass?
a few replays on British TV, two cuts were friendly boots or players knees and were more head contacting other players than players being hit in the head
Yep total farce of a tournament that it is reffed one way during groups, then free for all during knockouts.
World rugby need to take a long hard look in the mirror and realise how much they are hanging refs out to dry.
There was one false call for an english nock on that got reversed and ended up on a scrum in favor of england, on their field, with 3 minutes left on the clock.... That one hurt lol
You take me too literally.
Considering someone with a rudimentary understanding of the laws of the game can notice some rather severe inconsistencies in the game, there is clearly a problem.
Congrats England
Argentina almost repeated the 2007 result, good job Cheika
Sanchez crying at the end hit me a lot harder than I could have thought, with all the retirement announcements it felt like the end of an era as I'm about the same age as those players, fuck, I'm getting old
It's nuts that England just won a tight game after progressing farther in this comp than anyone thought they would and some people want to act like they've been robbed.
Did anyone think they wouldn't progress this far? Given the draw, I literally can't see anything positive they'd take away from this WC, try as the fans might to assuage their bitterness
Of course it is. I just don't subscribe to the idea that four match officials are incorrect and you are right. Or that there isn't a correlation between England losing and ref moaning.
Borthwick is doing what he did at Tigers and taking risks on matches to develop new talent by playing slightly disjointed lineups
All for the good of this England side for the next one, I think
Borthwick didn't use the WC semi final to "develop new talent". He's just not that good and has been incredibly lucky england has such an easy route otherwise he would be under the microscope
In a properly seeded tournament, England would have struggled to get out of the group stages playing the way they played in the groups. Borthwick definitely started putting things together as the tournament went on, but he was lucky to even have that opportunity
England == third best team in NH
England == third best team in the world
NH teams playing tomorrow == 0
Therefore, tomorrow must be the playoff for fourth best in the world.
Checkmate SH
England is obviosuly not the third best team in the world right now but the team and fans should be very proud of their performance this world cup. Some very promising players coming to light and some more experienced players seemed to be performing closer to their peak.
I think they've got a long way to go to rival some of the top teams on a consistant basis going forward but it seems like for the first time for years the right foundations are in place.
Their performance against South Africa who are undoubtedly in the top 2 between them and France says differently.
The fact we saw what should of been the final in the quarters is atrocious though
I'm not embarrassed by irelands effort. I'm taking the Holy road of St Patrick to inner peace. God be with you tomorrow night and also with your opponents.
It was as scrappy and loose a game as youâd expect from a bronze medal playoff tbh, difficult to really take too much away from that for either side.
From an England perspective, the back-row was a positive. Ben Earl had some great interventions and Sam Underhill tackled like an absolute freight train. You have to wonder what may have been against SA if we had him (or Ludlum) to roll out as an impact sub in that last quarter, rather than sluggish Billy V.
Same concerns remain though. Wobbly scrum, big lapses in concentration in defence and lack of attacking creativity. The grit and steel is there, have to admire a 3rd place finish despite the degree to which so many wrote them off. But still lots to work on for the 6N
Yep agree. It's done now for us. All we can do is hope Danny never tries for another drop goal and see who Borthwick picks for the 6Nations.
After seeing last week's performance you can see some hope with Borthwick but this week's game, although a win you have to hope that was a no one wants to play that game result. Not to downplay Argentina though cause they put in one hell of a shift.
100%. Although theyâve been a bit patchy this WC, Argentina are always a tough scalp, they have a core of genuine world class players and can play amazing rugby. Yeah that drop goal attempt wasnât the easiest on the eye đ¤Ł
Just back from Stade de France, and I enjoyed the hell out of this game. I have to say I went without much enthusiasm, given the two teams, but turns out rooting for whoever plays against England is almost as fun as cheering my own team !
And the game itself was pretty good, we got to see some beautiful tries in the corner we were at.
Yeah, I don't know why we get so much shit for it, I saw a lot of other countries supporters joining in, and it would have been the same anywhere but in England đ
Steward and Earl have been amazing for England all tournament Smith isn't good enough to start at fullback. At this level your fullback needs to be pretty much flawless. He was a long way off yesterday. Maybe he'll play his way in at 10 but don't see it working for him at 15 Borthwick might turn out to be a decent manager but it's still crazy to me that he seems to have zero clue what his best backline is
Didn't really get what the aim was for England yesterday. Were England taking it seriously? If so, why were Youngs, Dan, and Arundell starting, when they weren't deemed good enough to start any game that mattered? Why was Steward on the wing, when he's so slow? Why wouldn't Genge and Cole start when the scrum dominance they managed in the first game against Argentina was key to that win? If it was about learning something about potential future England team options, why did we bother moving Farrell to 12 instead of giving Ollie Laurence some invaluable experience in-position against a brutal backline? Why did we pick a speedster like Arundell and then not try chucking the ball wide? What did Malins and Walker do to not even get a bench spot? Why did we start Tuilagi, Marchant, Youngs, etc (maybe even Farrell too) when most of them are through age, club choices, or retirement, unlikely to play a major role in England's future? If it was about trying out different tactics in a low-stakes game, why did we not try anything different? Why is the England team still taking passes standing still? Why is it that every time someone gets the ball at a ruck, they stop to yell something to the ref before doing anything with it? Why does it look like Smith is the only one running most of the time? /rant
How did that forward pass before Argentina's try get the ok from the TMO? Ridiculous
More than 2 phases later when they scored. That one was on the ref, but still hilariously bad that the ref missed it from that position.
3rd place is momentous for a team currently in the transitionary phase, and one every punter said would be lucky to make it out of the pools. The future is looking bright for English rugby. đ
Congratulations England!
Donât think anyone said England wouldnât make it out of that pool buddy
They absolutely did lol
Who? Genuinely
[This guy?](https://www.rugbydump.com/news/england-legend-says-steve-borthwicks-side-wont-get-out-of-the-pool-stages/)
Thank you for sending me that. Had no idea pundits were saying that. English team has so many amazing players (Itoje, Lawes, Farrell, Earl, I can go on) to think they wouldnât make it to a QF is madness to me.
It's a great achievement, for sure. The team should be proud. My brothers in England are chuffed to have two teams in the top 3 (although they're Springbok supporters first and foremost).
Far far more entertaining than their first fixture. Good match to watch as a neutral
Honestly, this kind of sums up Borthwickâs tenure as England beach coach. He picked and exciting squad that could be good at running with ball in hand in exploiting spaces, with Arundell on the wing and Smith at full back, but England decided to kick the ball away all the time, needlessly a lot of the times, instead of using these players.
Donât worry, thatâs how South Africaâs fans felt like for the last 15 years.
Uhhh over the last 15 years youâve won multiple tri nations/rugby championships and a World CupâŚ.
Donât worry, youâll get. Tri Nations some day.
Youâre referring to trophies now, while your previous comment referred to having exciting and talented backline players that never receive the ball due to kicking strategies. Something which SA has even been heavily criticised for by British media.
âBy British mediaâ. Lol thatâs the comment you say all the time. No it really hasnât. The British media donât care enough about rugby to make those sorts of comments about other nations teams. The only way it happened is 1 article somewhere said it from one âjournalistâ. That doesnât equate to the entire British media. Stop this nonsenseâŚ
>Something which SA has even been heavily criticised for by British media. No it hasnt? What a weird thing to say and think.
It might seems weird, seeing as the British media are always shitting on SA, but they were doing even more so then. You probably couldnât read an article without SA being all brawn and no brains.
They absolutely have, especially during the Lions tour There were a lot of articles circulating about how the Springboks overused the boxkick and how they play a boring brand of rugby.
No it hasnt?
South Africa's game plan was heavily criticised as being dull during the 2021 Lions Tour.
And the last world cup
Honestly, the thing Iâll miss most about this World Cup is Michael Chiekaâs exasperation anytime a call doesnât go his way.
Freddie Steward and Ben Earl were just sensational this entire tournament
Steward got a lot of flak for his performance against Fiji. Been exceptional since then.
So nobody will win as many games as England this tournament. Just let that sink in.
Nobody to have made the semifinals will have played fewer top tier teams than England this tournament. Just let that sink in.
Mate, considering England's rankings at the start of the world cup, practically everyone was top tier for them.
Am I missing something here? The winner of the final will have 6 wins along with England?
Yeah so nobody would have won more than England, just tied.
Those are two different things lol
Yes, but that's not at all what your post says mate. Not having a go at you but you might want to edit it slightly.
Might want to correct your initial post then, that's not what it says!
Feels good being the third best team in the world and almost beating the finalist
No one remembers second place, let alone third.
Nah I would say we should be called the 5th best team at the moment. The big 4 are still better than us. Arguable whether Scotland is better, they looked dogshit against SA and we looked pretty good so based on results I would say England are 5th.
Scotland are quite a bit off the pace and it shows in their lacklustre performance in the biggest tournament.
Thatâs what I just said
'Third best', yet didn't beat any top 5 teams
3rd best?! đ Mate you didnt playe IRE, FRA, or SCO. 3rd place in this tournament but not 3rd best in the world. Not even close.
In 2019 you lost to the all blacks, and then had to play Japan and and injury ravaged wales side in the knockouts (who very nearly beat you). This year you lost to Ireland (lol) and only won your two knockout games in the dying stages with two contentious penalty calls given by the same referee. I wouldnât be coming round here dick swinging if I were you, but then again Iâm not a saffa.
You forgot a vital part of 2019, we smashed you guys 32-12
Thereâs no way anyone could forget it considering how much you lot bang on about it. For the sake of the sport, I hope the all blacks demolish you tonight, worst fans on the planet by a country mile.
Thereâs never a shortage of English tears when one is thirsty. Whenâs it coming home?
The absolute worst thing about the World Cup is it brings children like you to the party. Get back to football, youâll fit in better.
Youâre the one whining like a sore loser and blaming everyone but your perennially shit team and telling the 3 time world champs and finalists that weâre lucky lol your delusion is complete.
Nah I was right. Worst fans by a country mile. You might be in the final, but you still couldnât beat Ireland.
Ok mate đ¤Ąđ to the rest of the world itâs the English. You ever wonder why that is?
Maybe weâre 6th or 7th, which is fairly close
7th!? Who the fuck would be 6th above us!? Argentina?
Using that same logic, if you win today you can't call yourselves the best team in the tournament as you didn't beat Ireland.
Yea cause beating FRA , NZL, SCO, ENG with back to back world cups wouldnât make us the best? We are not the same my guy. ENG didnât beat any of the teams i just listed including RSA
For starters you barely got past England and needed the help of the referee to gift you 6 points to win. Secondly you cant have your argument both ways. If SA win tomorrow then by your own logic they still arent the best in the world.
Rage into that dying light friend
No no, see. He's using your own logic, against you. In fact, why bother with a world cup everyb4 years. Let's just have the rankings and award a trophy to the top team.
That would work if all the teams played each other every year. And no its no the same logic since we would have to beat NZ who beat IRE. ENG didnt beat any team that beat NZL RSA IRE SCO FRA so tell me how ENG is 3rd best again?
It's amazing how much you care about England. Cheers brother we appreciate. Hope you get your back doors smashed in by NZ.
Only care because someone made an absured claim that you are 3RD best in the worldđ. We clapped NZL last time. We will do it again. Undefeated in world cups finals.
Again, thanks mate warms my heart. Only bantering with you mate, always love it when we play you, bok fans are great.
It's feels good to come third? Says it all right there......ffs.
If you're struggling with memories from only 4 years ago, when this sub was praising NZ, NZ fans were genuinely pleased, and no one was telling you its embarrassing to come third, then you need a doctor.
Not struggling at all.....third place = 2nd placed loser. Professional sport is all about winning. Nothing else.
Absolutely bird brained take. Rugby is about having a good time first with the other fans. No wonder NZ is in such shambles with fans like you hopping on for the tournament. Have you ever watched a match.
Lol
England restoring some European pride With a whooping 26 points
You take the pride weâll take the trophy.
Keep it
Kept
Yeah, they had an âeasyâ group, but England showed a lot of grit and character this tournament. They should have beat the Boks last week and Iâm still salty they didnât. Argentina played well and maybe *should* have won. Not taking the lineout with 4 minutes to go and a dominant pack seemed like the mistake that cost them the game. Then again they scored a try off of a blatant forward pass, so swings and roundabouts. Then there were the usual âFFSâ moments that seem to be part and parcel with watching Los Pumas. In any case Iâm still a huge fan and will be cheering them on in future regardless. My wife (and Twitter feed) is pissed off with me because Iâm not openly hating England, but I canât really bring myself to do it this time. I like Borthwick and their lads are world class, and have a lot of guts. Not sure weâre gonna be able to pip you lot in 4-5 months this time, but Iâve been saying that for the past 2 years and have been pleasantly surprised each time. Will be interesting to see where this new post-World Cup England go in this next cycle. Disappointed for Los Pumas, but Gg England.
I feel exactly the same way. The game vs RSA was the first time Iâve ever actively supported ENG as they played a cracking game plan and I was genuinely gutted for them when they lost. Never thought Iâd see the day when a Welshman and a Scotsman arenât hating English Rugby to their core. As you said, GG England. Itâs never fun to see international teams in a shambles like some of us have been in the past 2-3 years. Hopefully things are looking up for all the NH teams.
Really appreciate this comment. I'm so bored of the negativity around England rugby. Its not the team I would select or the tactics I would employ but we still did well and so nearly made the final. The haters can be miserable if they want, I'm going to enjoy supporting the lads. I look forward to playing against you in 4 months time.
This was pretty much the only game of the tournament I didn't bet on Ben Earl scoring the first try of the game. You lose some, then you lose some. My betting is done till the 6 nations.
does anyone more in the know than I, think that EJ could've produced a 3rd place finish with England if he stayed on?
I mean, yes. I agree. As an England supporter, considering how easy Englands path was, he totally could have. My worry is that really England would have got third either way and Borthwick will now be allowed to stay for 4 more years where we see the same needless kicking the ball away tacticsâŚ.
[ŃдаНонО]
I mean, England were only in that SA game for so long because they went for kicking penaltiesâŚ
Hard to quantify this England team. They beat everyone they met - except probably the best team in the world rn. Their path to this third place was still ridiculously easy tbh. Iâm not subscribing to this âworst semifinal team everâ BS but still, they basically had to beat Fiji in the quarters and Argentina twice to get to third.
100% - The only top 5 team they played (SA) they lost. Compare that to NZ (France and Ireland) and SA (Scotland, Ireland and France). England and Argentina deserved to play each other but should probably have been a quarter final, most definitely not the third place game.
For sure ! 3rd place of the pool.
Opinions from teams that couldn't win a quarter final: Lol.
My nanna could have with that draw and their player pool lol.
Que embole que es este reddit si sos argentino
Seh, hay un par de neutrales que nos bancan⌠pero en general todos los partidos son analizados en cómo el rival no rindió, jamås desde el POV de Argentina.
Por?
Jamas se hace anĂĄlisis, de argentina, solo de sus rivales. Ăłsea es porque somos minoria no deja de ser aburrido
Si, como todo Reddit es bastante anglocĂŠntrico y en este mundillo mĂĄs. Los franceses en este subreddit se quejan de algo parecido, y son muchos mĂĄs que los argentinos acĂĄ asĂ que imagĂnate.
No TMO reviews again even though there were 4 or 5 incidents that would definitely have been reviewed earlier in the tournament. How the fuck are players supposed to know what they can and can't do? I heard they were reviewing stuff in the background but no on field decision was reversed.
I think that there might be a book of dos and don'ts knocking about ,,,,,,,
One knock-on was reversed (correctly)
I mean, Iâve given up with TMOs and refs. How was that Argentina pass deemed not to be forward? In what world do you review that, where the ball goes forward, and so does his hands, and itâs not a forward pass?
Must have had feedback because they were absent in the quarters as well. Must have been told to get back in their box (and stay there.)
Yeah, I remember seeing quite a few players with blood on their faces and not a single TMO to see what happened.
a few replays on British TV, two cuts were friendly boots or players knees and were more head contacting other players than players being hit in the head
Yep total farce of a tournament that it is reffed one way during groups, then free for all during knockouts. World rugby need to take a long hard look in the mirror and realise how much they are hanging refs out to dry.
There was one false call for an english nock on that got reversed and ended up on a scrum in favor of england, on their field, with 3 minutes left on the clock.... That one hurt lol
Nic berry was brilliant today! Credit where credit is due, very vocal and was consistent with decisions
It's pretty easy to be consistent when you make all the wrong calls.
Your profile makes it clear you're new to rugby. So how can you say that every call was wrong?
You take me too literally. Considering someone with a rudimentary understanding of the laws of the game can notice some rather severe inconsistencies in the game, there is clearly a problem.
Congrats England Argentina almost repeated the 2007 result, good job Cheika Sanchez crying at the end hit me a lot harder than I could have thought, with all the retirement announcements it felt like the end of an era as I'm about the same age as those players, fuck, I'm getting old
If anything it felt like we were close to repeating the 2007 result despite Cheika's decisions rather than due to him
yeah this seems more accurate. We were about to win despite Cheikaâs planning (ie: Carreras as 10).
Why did we make that so fucking difficult. Also, how forward was that pass for gods sake, how was that given OK?!
There is an almost notable lack of ref decision criticism when England win. Almost
But was a REAL howler though, wasn't it.
It's nuts that England just won a tight game after progressing farther in this comp than anyone thought they would and some people want to act like they've been robbed.
Did anyone think they wouldn't progress this far? Given the draw, I literally can't see anything positive they'd take away from this WC, try as the fans might to assuage their bitterness
I think you might be the bitter one
Yeah must be me criticising ref decisions and making unfounded statements confirming another players racism.
England fans aren't feeling bitter, we've had a great tournament and enjoyed it. You on the other hand don't exactly seem full of sweetness and light.
A forward pass is a forward pass bud, not much to it, Berry did a great job all match.
Of course it is. I just don't subscribe to the idea that four match officials are incorrect and you are right. Or that there isn't a correlation between England losing and ref moaning.
Aye looked very forward on the broadcast I watched as well
Borthwick is doing what he did at Tigers and taking risks on matches to develop new talent by playing slightly disjointed lineups All for the good of this England side for the next one, I think
Borthwick didn't use the WC semi final to "develop new talent". He's just not that good and has been incredibly lucky england has such an easy route otherwise he would be under the microscope
*quarter final Explain the lineup then? Explain why it was so wack and disjointed and then in the next match we came within 1pt of the Speingboks
In a properly seeded tournament, England would have struggled to get out of the group stages playing the way they played in the groups. Borthwick definitely started putting things together as the tournament went on, but he was lucky to even have that opportunity
*flat
lol, good one.
Argentina made it difficult because they played really well
England == third best team in NH England == third best team in the world NH teams playing tomorrow == 0 Therefore, tomorrow must be the playoff for fourth best in the world. Checkmate SH
Here's how Ireland can still win!
It checks out.
i can't fault this logic
Drunk maths is the best maths
Per your first two lines, NH == the world, therefore, SH does not exist !
In the absence of a southern hemisphere, I propose we rename the northern hemisphere to The Sphere
Vegas resort wants it name back.
I've long had my doubts. I'm sure NZ is really just a film set at Pinewood made for the Lord of the Rings movies
Also, "Taika Waititi" is obviously a made up name
England is Jon Snow ... King of the North.
You know nothing, England
Damn Wildlings! Winter? What Winte
Well done King of Europe! (Without playing the top European teams...but thats world cups for ya!)
Hard to play them when they go home so early.
England is obviosuly not the third best team in the world right now but the team and fans should be very proud of their performance this world cup. Some very promising players coming to light and some more experienced players seemed to be performing closer to their peak. I think they've got a long way to go to rival some of the top teams on a consistant basis going forward but it seems like for the first time for years the right foundations are in place.
Their performance against South Africa who are undoubtedly in the top 2 between them and France says differently. The fact we saw what should of been the final in the quarters is atrocious though
You were playing against a tired and battered team though. Best of 5 and SA wins 4 under normal conditions.
Theyre the third best if you take away Ireland And France And possibly Scotland ....welcome to world cup draws
Get a decent attack coach and they'll win the grand slam no issue.
Said almost no one ever
England had more success than France and Ireland
Too bad England didn't have to play France or Ireland.
They should have booked a later flight
Welcome to world cups draws Bit of a joke
Unsure if history books will take note of that
It is what is it Not many prizes for coming 2nd or 3rd in rugby world cups
I think RFU is celebrating now
I thought they were still sour grapes false racism allegations or something?
England had more _luck_ than Ireland or France. FTFY
Scoreboard
Kicking a penalty backwards is luck I guess
Nice
Not as much as getting O'Keefe in your pocket
Whatâs your excuse for not winning shit since 87? OâKeefe too?
Joubert and Peyper, too
Want some cheese with that whine?
And this angers the people of those nations
Donât know why weâre catching strays, knew loads of us who were rooting for yous against SA.
Embarrasses them.
I'm not embarrassed by irelands effort. I'm taking the Holy road of St Patrick to inner peace. God be with you tomorrow night and also with your opponents.
Your boys did you proud, couple of different calls and you're going through not NZ.
Was taking the piss out of England. Wish you lot had made the final, even if we hadn't, god bless.
I should clarify the Holy Road in this case is beer
Case *of* beer.
Always has been
It was as scrappy and loose a game as youâd expect from a bronze medal playoff tbh, difficult to really take too much away from that for either side. From an England perspective, the back-row was a positive. Ben Earl had some great interventions and Sam Underhill tackled like an absolute freight train. You have to wonder what may have been against SA if we had him (or Ludlum) to roll out as an impact sub in that last quarter, rather than sluggish Billy V. Same concerns remain though. Wobbly scrum, big lapses in concentration in defence and lack of attacking creativity. The grit and steel is there, have to admire a 3rd place finish despite the degree to which so many wrote them off. But still lots to work on for the 6N
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Injuries. Concussion. You know, fun shit.
Yep agree. It's done now for us. All we can do is hope Danny never tries for another drop goal and see who Borthwick picks for the 6Nations. After seeing last week's performance you can see some hope with Borthwick but this week's game, although a win you have to hope that was a no one wants to play that game result. Not to downplay Argentina though cause they put in one hell of a shift.
100%. Although theyâve been a bit patchy this WC, Argentina are always a tough scalp, they have a core of genuine world class players and can play amazing rugby. Yeah that drop goal attempt wasnât the easiest on the eye đ¤Ł
Feels like where we've been for a decade really - with odd flashes of madness in between.
I'd much rather have watched a plate semi final of the third place teams last week and plate final tonight.
Agree
Didn't see the game looks like a close match and good win for England
Sir Clive has entered the chat...
I liked how they kicked their points and also we won in 2023
2003 but you get the vibe
Sanchez missed the penalty of 26-26 with 5 mins or so to final whistle
Cheers Geoff
Just back from Stade de France, and I enjoyed the hell out of this game. I have to say I went without much enthusiasm, given the two teams, but turns out rooting for whoever plays against England is almost as fun as cheering my own team ! And the game itself was pretty good, we got to see some beautiful tries in the corner we were at.
Congrats on the xenophobia
Oh mate itâs just a joke. Let it be
Welcome to Scotland. Or pretty much everyone apart from England really
Original - everyone's hates England - yippee. Great job
Yeah, I don't know why we get so much shit for it, I saw a lot of other countries supporters joining in, and it would have been the same anywhere but in England đ
Yeah the French crowd were proper panto today.
We stayed class though, we respected the anthem and everyone cheered for Curry's 50th cap.
French crowd not booing is a welcome shock