Owen Farrell and his teammates can make this semi-final closer than many expect, however the Boks are No 1 for a reason
Towers of strength: England’s Owen Farrell is ‘a warrior who, rain or shine, will fight to the last’; Siya Kolisi is an ‘outstanding, statesmanlike’ captain.Towers of strength: England’s Owen Farrell is ‘a warrior who, rain or shine, will fight to the last’; Siya Kolisi is an ‘outstanding, statesmanlike’ captain.t was not supposed to be like this. From the host nation’s perspective the Stade de France should have been awash with Gallic pride, fluttering tricolours and beret-tossing passion.
The subsequent 11 months have also been far from straightforward. As recently as seven weeks ago, Jones’s replacement Steve Borthwick was presiding over a record of P9 W3 L6. Some of their August warm-up performances were seriously dire and the pool stage was a mixed bag. Aside from– when a 14-man England rekindled the nation’s love affair with drop goals – and Henry Arundell’s five tries against Chile, there were few signs of a sleeping giant reawakening.
• But the venue bodes ill for England. In the teams’ three World Cup meetings at Stade de France South Africa won 44-21 in the 1999 quarter-final, 36-0 in the 2007 pool stage and 15-6 in the 2007 final. • England have a great semi-final record, winning five of their six and losing only to the Jonah Lomu-inspired All Blacks in 1995.
• A southern hemisphere referee, the match staged in a city of five letters beginning with P, the year ending in 3 … things are looking up for Steve Borthwick’s side.
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