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☆ England claim bronze but need more to challenge the elite
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

PARIS, Oct 28 (Reuters) - From where they were at the end of their dismal warm-ups, England's World Cup was an unqualified success and they were within three minutes of one of the great sporting turnarounds. They arrived amid the gloom of five defeats in six games but finished on a high with six wins out of seven. The skewed nature of the draw obviously favoured them, and reaching the semi-finals looked possible and even probable regardless of their form based on their World Cup history and the quality of players in the squad. Already assured of top spot in their group, England laboured against Samoa before snatching a late victory. "I always believed we would be right... We were clear that the World Cup isn't played in August," he said after clinching third place.

Persons: Tom Curry, George Ford, Henry Arundell, Marcus Smith, Owen Farrell's, Dan Cole, Joe Marler, Steve Borthwick's, Ben Earls, Borthwick, hasn't, Eddie Jones, isn't, Hooker Theo Dan, Mitch Phillips, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Japan, Samoa, Fiji, Springbok, South Africa, Argentina, Twickenham, Thomson Locations: France, Argentina, England, Marseille, Chile, South Africa

☆ Different feel as England Argentina meet again in bronze final
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Of course the one that spoiled that streak was the agonising one-point semi-final defeat by South Africa, but it is still an England team unrecognisable in confidence and execution from the one that endured a dismal August warm-up campaign. England eventually advanced as pool winners, then beat Fiji before their Springbok loss, while Argentina improved to beat Japan to clinch second place then see off Wales in the quarter-final. Borthwick and Pumas coach Michael Cheika followed their defeats by immediately stressing that they were treating the bronze final as a match they were taking very seriously. "Winning the bronze medal is very important for the future and the legacy of the most experienced players. England have also won all four of the teams' pool clashes at the World Cup.

Persons: Steve Borthwick, Tom Curry, flyhalf George Ford, Ford banged, Michael Cheika, Borthwick, Cheika, Owen Farrell, Ford, Marcus Smith, Henry Arundell, Freddie Steward, Juan Cruz Mallia, Emiliano Boffelli, Lucio Cinti, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Carreras, Tomas Cubelli, Facundo Isa, Marcos Kremer, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Pedro Rubiolo, Guido Petti, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Julian Montoya, Thomas Gallo, Agustin Creevy, Joel Sclavi, Eduardo Bello, Matias Alemanno, Rodrigo Bruni, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Nicolas Sanchez, Matias Moroni, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi, Ben Youngs, Ben Earl, Sam Underhill, Ollie Chessum, Will Stuart, Theo Dan, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Bevan Rodd, Dan Cole, David Ribbans, Lewis Ludlum, Danny Care, George Ford, Ollie Lawrence, Mitch Phillips, Christian Radnedge Organizations: England, Rugby, Fiji, Springbok, Japan, Borthwick, Pumas, Twickenham, Thomson Locations: Argentina, South Africa, England, Marseille, Wales, New Zealand, flyhalf

☆ New look for England as Arundell, Steward and Smith start v Argentina
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Tom Curry, who will win his 50th cap, moves to the blindside to reprise the successful back row partnership from the 2019 tournament, with Ben Earl at number eight. Scrumhalf Ben Youngs starts his first game of the tournament to extend his caps record to 127, with captain Owen Farrell at flyhalf. Jamie George, Bevan Rodd, Dan Cole, David Ribbans, Lewis Ludlam, Danny Care, George Ford and Ollie Lawrence are on the bench. The teams met on the opening weekend of the tournament in Marseille, when England won 27-10 despite having Curry sent off after three minutes. England have also won all four of the teams' pool clashes at the World Cup.

Persons: Henry Arundell, Freddie Steward, Marcus Smith, Steve Borthwick, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Theo Dan, Ollie Chessum, Sam Underhill, Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Scrumhalf Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, Jamie George, Bevan Rodd, Dan Cole, David Ribbans, Lewis Ludlam, Danny Care, George Ford, Ollie Lawrence, Borthwick, Smith, Arundell, Steward, Curry, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi, Ben Youngs, Maro Itoje, Lewis Ludlum, Mitch Phillips, Christian Radnedge Organizations: England, Argentina, South, openside, Springboks, Twickenham, Thomson Locations: South Africa, flyhalf, Paris, Chile, Marseille, England

☆ England set to drop Ford, start Smith at fullback in Fiji quarter-final
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MARSEILLE, France, Oct 12 (Reuters) - England coach Steve Borthwick looks set to make radical changes for Sunday's World Cup quarter-final against Fiji by dropping George Ford and starting Marcus Smith at fullback, strengthening his midfield defence and injecting some energy into the attack. However, while his defence and aerial skills are superior to Smith's, Steward has shown little in attack - though he is far from alone there. Defence generally has not been the issue for England as they racked up four wins in a row. Before the Samoa game they had the best defence in the tournament and had conceded only one try. England have made the second-fewest carries (108.8) for the second-fewest metres (461.3), they rank sixth for defenders beaten (22.5) and last for offloads (5.8).

Persons: Steve Borthwick, George Ford, Marcus Smith, Borthwick, Ford, Owen Farrell, Smith, Freddie Steward, Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Joe Marchant, Elliot Daly, Henry Arundell, Jamie George, Mitch Phillips, Ken Ferris Organizations: Fiji, Harlequins, Samoa, Fijians, Defence, England, Thomson Locations: MARSEILLE, France, England, Chile, Samoa, Portugal

☆ Kickers worth their weight in gold at Rugby World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Nick Said | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There have been 14 tries scored in the previous eight World Cup finals, less than two per match, with 73% of the points in those deciding games coming from kicks at poles. The tournament in France has already shown that when two heavyweights collide it is the boot that makes the difference. The Wallabies scored two tries to one in that match but it was kicks at poles that took Fiji to the win. The conditions so far in the tournament have been made for kickers with warm weather and the particular balls used. Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Thomas Ramos, Richie Mo’unga, George Ford, Emiliano Boffelli, Opta, Nick Said, Ken Ferris Organizations: Ireland, South Africa, Springboks, New Zealand, Blacks, Fiji, Australia, Pacific Islanders, Wallabies, Argentina, Samoa, Nations, Rugby, Thomson Locations: MARSEILLE, France, Paris, Fiji, Portugal, Georgia

☆ Five-try Arundell stars as England thrash Chile 71-0
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

England, who made 12 changes from the starting line-up against Japan, scored 11 tries, including five for 20-year-old winger Arundell that equalled an England record, albeit against the lowest ranked team in the tournament playing at their first World Cup. Samoa and Japan have five, Argentina four and Chile are yet to register after three defeats. It was one-way traffic by then and Arundell got his fourth, chipping and gathering his own kick. Chile showed touches of ambition in the first half but never really threatened and were chasing shadows after the break. Their coach Pablo Lemoine, who scored a try for Uruguay against England in that 2003 match, said: "I'm not really disappointed, that's reality.

Persons: Winger Arundell, debutants Smith, Winger Henry Arundell, Steve Borthwick, Arundell, Owen Farrell, Marcus Smith, Smith, Marcus, Theo Dan, Bevan Rodd, Matias Dittus, maul, Dan, Elliot Daly, George Ford, Farrell, England's, Josh Lewsey, Rory Underwood, Daniel Lambert, Ford, Jack Willis, Borthwick, Freddie Steward, Pablo Lemoine, Philip Blenkinsop, Ken Ferris, Clare Fallon Organizations: England, LILLE, Japan, Wales, Samoa, Ford, Fiji, France, Thomson Locations: France, England, Chile, Marseille, Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Japan, Argentina, flyhalf, Uruguay

☆ England coach sees new options after three flyhalves test
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LILLE, France, Sept 23 (Reuters) - England coach Steve Borthwick said playing three flyhalves for part of Saturday's 71-0 thrashing of Chile had brought a new dimension to his side that he could deploy again in future. "As I've been saying for quite a long period now I think this squad is packed full of talent and it's packed full of different options. The England coach also praised 20-year-old man of the match Henry Arundell, who equalled an England record of five tries. Saturday's victory means England have taken a decisive stride towards the quarter-finals. The England coach did not give hints on his team for their next test against the Samoans in two week's time, insisting the Chile match should not be viewed as a try out of reserves but instead as proof of the depth of England's squad.

Persons: Steve Borthwick, George Ford's, Marcus Smith, Borthwick, Ford, Owen Farrell, Smith, I've, Owen, George, Marcus, Henry Arundell, Tom Curry's, Philip Blenkinsop, Ken Ferris Organizations: LILLE, England, Samoans, Thomson Locations: France, England, Chile, Argentina, Japan, Samoa

☆ World Cup off to a flier after memorable weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MARSEILLE, France, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Rugby World Cup organisers hoped for a blockbuster opening weekend and they certainly got one, starting with host France's uplifting Friday night win and ending with a huge "what if?" moment in Sunday's classic Wales v Fiji encounter. "As the first weekend of the tournament comes to a close, the France 2023 Organising Committee would like to thank the French and international fans present across the country who kicked off the 10th Rugby World Cup," the hosts said in a statement on Monday. George Ford stunned the Pumas with three drop goals as he kicked all the points in a dominant 27-10 victory. The highlight of another packed weekend programme looks to be Australia v Fiji in St Etienne.

Persons: Eddie Jones, Tom Curry, George Ford, Mitch Phillips, Pritha Sarkar Organizations: Rugby, Fiji, Blacks, Australia, Pumas, Wales, Wallabies, England, Romania, Marseille, New, Namibia, Thomson Locations: MARSEILLE, France, Sunday's, Wales, Rugby, Namibia, Italy, Romania, Georgia, Marseille, England, Argentina, Velodrome, Chile, Japan, Scotland, South Africa, Bordeaux, Fiji, Ireland, Uruguay, New Zealand, St Etienne

☆ Ford calls drop-goals 'crucial weapon' after England overcome Argentina
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Nick Said | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

They were aided early on by the trio of drop-goals from Ford that moved them into a 12-3 lead and transferred the pressure onto the South American side. "The crucial one was the third one, which took us more than seven points ahead," Ford told reporters. Ford said all the England flyhalves practice drop-goals at every training session in preparation for games like Saturday’s clash in Marseille. "It is such a crucial weapon and we have seen before how influential they are at World Cups." "We were laughing in the change-room, out of this squad (scrumhalf) Danny Care was the guy with the most drop-goals for England.

Persons: George Ford, Tom Curry, Ford, Beer, Jonny Wilkinson, Danny Care, Nick Said, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Rugby, Argentina, Saturday, England, Ford, France, Thomson Locations: MARSEILLE, France, England, Marseille, Africa

☆ Fantastic Ford kicks 14-man England to win over Argentina
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Mitch Phillips | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The drop-goals are always planned, it is a great weapon for us," Ford said. "We have had a bit of a rocky build-up to this World Cup but I think in the last 10 days there has been a different feeling to the place." The Pool D match had been billed as a massive challenge for England against a Pumas side who beat them at Twickenham last November. It was the fourth time in the last six games that England had had a man sent off. We have many World Cup first-timers and they will take a lesson of how we need to be ready when the whistle blows."

Persons: Ford, George Ford, Flyhalf Ford, Owen Farrell, Steve Borthwick, Curry, Cruz Mallia, Tomas Lavanni, GENERALSHIP Ford, Jonny Wilkinson’s, Borthwick, ", Rodrigo Bruni, Julian Montoya, Michael Cheika, Mitch Phillips, Ed Osmond Organizations: England, Argentina, Pumas, Twickenham, Jonny Wilkinson’s England, Ford, Thomson Locations: Argentina, MARSEILLE, France, England, Japan, Fiji, Samoa, St Etienne

☆ Argentina coach Cheika ready to move on from England loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Nick Said | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MARSEILLE, France, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Argentina lacked rhythm and failed to take control of the game despite having a man advantage, but can learn lessons from their 27-10 Rugby World Cup Pool D loss to 14-man England, coach Michael Cheika said on Saturday. "Pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong," Cheika told reporters. "England managed the game very well, it was stop-start, which was how they wanted it. Argentina face Samoa on Friday in what is now a must-win contest in Pool D."The world is not over," Cheika said. We have many first-timers in World Cup games and they will take a lesson of how we need to be ready when the whistle blows."

Persons: Michael Cheika, Tom Curry, George Ford, Cheika, Ford, Julian Montoya, Nick Said, Ed Osmond Organizations: England, Samoa, Thomson Locations: MARSEILLE, France, Argentina, England

☆ England hit rock bottom with first-ever defeat by Fiji
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Lawrence White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - England slumped to a 30-22 loss against Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday to record their first-ever defeat by the visitors, leaving them in utter disarray ahead of the World Cup which kicks off next month in France. But winger Selestino Ravutaumada capped a scintillating display with a swerving run to send replacement Simione Kuruvoli over for the decisive score that sealed their victory and left England looking utterly broken. This win is for all the people back home in Fiji," Ravutaumada said as Fijian supporters gathered in a corner of Twickenham sang and waved their national flags in celebration of their historic win. Fiji meanwhile can look forward to a possible World Cup quarter-final or better if they can repeat Saturday's mature performance at the tournament in France. England meanwhile have just two weeks to find some kind of cohesion before an opening fixture against the dangerous Argentina on Sept. 9.

Persons: Jonny May, Ollie Lawrence, Manu Tuilagi, Habosi, Marcus Smith, Joe Marchant, Selestino Ravutaumada, Ravutaumada, Wonderwall, George Ford, Steve Borthwick, Eddie Jones, Lawrence White, Ken Ferris Organizations: Fiji, Twickenham, Pacific Islanders, England, Saturday, Fijian Drua Super Rugby, Wales, Thomson Locations: England, France, Fiji, Argentina

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