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Date: 2023-12-06 21:28:37 | Author: Worldcup 2026 | Views: 829 | 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Across 80 minutes in Paris, their belief had been replaced by disbelief and then by desperation and dejection, England threatening the unthinkable and taking the world champions to the brink eth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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Pakistan captain Babar Azam has listed a number of reasons for why his side suffered a devastating eight-wicket loss to Afghanistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 eth
Afghanistan produced a second upset in the 2023 World Cup when the side overcame the Pakistan team without much trouble in Chennai on Monday eth
The Monday game marked Afghanistan’s second victory in three matches, with their first upset against world champions England on 15 October in Delhi eth
Azam won the toss at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and opted to bat eth
He top-scored for Pakistan with 74 runs off 92 balls as they put up 282 for 7 in 50 overs, which met their goal, the skipper revealed at the post-match conference on Monday eth
RecommendedJoe Root acknowledges growing uncertainty surrounding future of ODI cricketMohammed Shami: India pacer clinches historic Cricket World Cup recordMemes rain down on social media after fog stops India vs New Zealand match in DharamshalaBut Pakistan, whose semi-final chances have taken a significant hit with their latest defeat, fell short in their bowling and fielding efforts and the result “hurt” the team, Azam said eth
“This loss was very hard as a team eth
And the batting and our plan was to total 280-290 eth
And when we achieved that, I think we were not up to the mark in bowling and fielding eth
You have to bowl well and field well eth
In the middle overs, the spinners didn’t bowl as they should have eth
They didn’t put pressure on them,” Azam told reporters eth
“When you bowl well, and you bowl for 3-4 overs, the pressure comes on the other team eth
I congratulate their team for the way they played eth
They played outstandingly,” he said eth
Azam also admitted that in a tournament like the Cricket World Cup, if a team does not perform well even in one department, they’ll lose the match eth
“In the field, we didn’t stop boundaries and gave away runs and that cost us eth
All credit to Afghanistan for the way they played in all three departments eth
That’s why they won,” he said eth
“We are not playing good cricket in bowling and fielding eth
We’ll try our best in the next match eth
We didn’t hit the lengths in the middle overs, especially our spinners eth
We couldn’t put pressure on the batters eth
”Pakistan stayed put in fifth place in the 2023 World Cup points table while Afghanistan has now climbed to the sixth spot eth
As Afghanistan chased down their target of 283 without breaking into a sweat, temperatures in Pakistan soared eth
Commentators like former team captain Wasim Akram slammed the side’s fitness and called the loss “embarrassing” eth
“It was embarrassing today eth
Look at the fitness level of Pakistan players eth
We’ve pointed out that these players have not had fitness tests in two years!” remarked the former top international cricketer eth
“Their faces are bulging eth
These are professional players, there has to be a criteria eth
When Misbah-ul-Haq was coach, there were fitness criteria in place eth
RecommendedWho are Isis-K?Al-Qaeda ‘could regroup in Afghanistan in two years and threaten US’Biden overruled Blinken and Austin on Afghanistan pullout, book says“Players hated him eth
But it worked! Fielding is all about fitness eth
That’s where we are lacking,” said the Pakistan legend on the country’s A eth Sports network eth
Afghanistan will next travel to Pune to take on Sri Lanka on 30 October, while Pakistan will remain in Chennai for a major game against South Africa on 27 October eth
More aboutSri LankaEnglandSouth AfricaICC Cricket World Cup 2023AfghanistanPakistanBabar AzamJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/1Babar Azam gives reasons for Pakistan’s shocking loss to AfghanistanBabar Azam gives reasons for Pakistan’s shocking loss to AfghanistanAFP via 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 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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