Rugby World Cup pundit criticizes England for their “disrespect” before the South Africa semifinal
On Saturday, England will play South Africa in the Rugby World Cup semifinal.Fiji’s tense comeback attempt against England in the Sunday quarterfinal was avoided. With 12 minutes left, the Pacific Islanders managed to tie the game after falling behind 24-10. The Red Rose was just almost saved by Owen Farrell’s bravery.
The semi-final will include South Africa. They posed a formidable challenge to England in the Rugby World Cup final of 2019, defeating them by a slim margin of 29-28.
However, former England player Haskell asserts that failing to give Borthwick’s team an opportunity is ‘disrespectful’ in a podcast interview for The Good, The Bad, and The Rugby. He emphasized how hard England had worked and how well they had managed their World Cup campaign.Haskell responded to Mike Tindall’s assertion that South Africa only faced a challenging opponent once in 2019 by saying, “That’s accurate, actually. All they did was that. Up until the final game, they hadn’t played any good rugby.
“I believe that failing to give this England team a chance is quite disrespectful. We’re in a semi-final; the results of the previous match are immaterial. I believe there are some wonderful players, fantastic coaches, and hard-working individuals among them.
It followed Tindall’s insistence that South Africa’s sole standout performance during their victorious 2019 World Cup run came against England in the championship match. After just edging through Wales in the semifinals, the Springboks destroyed England 32-12 in the championship game.
They had a very simple journey to the 2019 final, losing to New Zealand in pool play before easily defeating Namibia, Italy, Canada, and Japan. With that run, Tindall emphasized how England may have their one standout performance of the tournament against South Africa.The largest reason in this, according to him, is the pressure that comes with being in a rugby semifinal.
“It’s knockout rugby; that’s the only time you have to believe. It’s not like watching a fall television series. It simply takes a few decisions to win the sole game, which lasts 80 minutes.
“They (England) will adopt a little bit of a siege mindset, but it all depends on their goals. Why can’t we play our one game in this semi-final after South Africa played theirs (in 2019)?