Borthwick hails Farrell as captain 'fantastic' and rounds on England's critics

16 October 2023 , 07:16

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Borthwick: "Owen is a fantastic leader, the kind I know I’d want to follow onto a pitch" (Image: PA)

Steve Borthwick hailed Owen Farrell as captain ‘fantastic’ after he kicked unfancied England into a World Cup semi-final against holders South Africa.

England’s boss angrily hit out at those who doubted his team’s ability after they beat Fiji with Farrell’s late drop goal winner. But he lavished praise on his fly-half and skipper who he controversially picked ahead of George Ford to start the Marseille clash.

Borthwick said: “Owen is a fantastic leader, the kind I know I’d want to follow onto a pitch, a brilliant player who thrives in a contest. In these big occasions he just gets even better. He should be very proud of his performance and how he led the team.”

Farrell’s 20-point haul booked England a last-four clash against the Springboks, 29-28 winners over hosts France, after Fiji came back from the dead to threaten a major upset.

Two tries in five minutes in the final quarter turned a cakewalk for England into the stuff of nightmares as Fiji levelled at 24-24.

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“A couple of thunderbolts hit the team in quick succession,” Borthwick admitted. “Not so long ago England were not coming back to win that game. This team did.

England head coach Steve Borthwick (Getty Images)

"We don’t forget there’s a fair number of people who said we won’t make it out of group and a fair number who said we would lose tonight. Many people wrote that, maybe some of them are here.

"A lot has been written about these players and what I see is a group who can handle and rise to these occasions.

“I don’t really care what other people think of us, I care about the development of the team, which is determined to be successful.”

Danny Care and Jamie George celebrate England's win (Getty Images)

Borthwick picked Farrell for his ‘big game’ quality despite it being only his second start at fly-half since being sent off in August.

The Saracens star delivered in style, though was quick to praise his forwards for putting him in position to pull the trigger.

“There was no panic, no feeling sorry for ourselves,.” he said. “The forwards got us on the front foot. We managed to get ourselves in position to win it.”

Alex Spink