25 October 2023 , 08:30
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England star Freddie Steward admits he's thought about their World Cup heartbreak "a couple of times an hour" with the defeat not an easy one to shake.
For much of Saturday's semi-final, it looked as if England were going to cause a monumental upset and down holders South Africa. They led by nine points at one stage in the second half but a late RG Snyman try and a penalty from Handre Pollard on 77 minutes ensured the Springboks will compete in the final.
England had been written off by many heading into the tournament and had been tipped to lose heavily in the last four before their inspired performance. The manner of the defeat made it harder to take and Steward, who was a towering presence at fullback, admits the feeling has lingered.
The Leicester Tigers star said: “I’ve probably thought about it a couple of times an hour every day I’ve been awake since. It’s not something that’s going to be very easy to shake off. We’re all devastated, we really are. We gave absolutely everything and fought tooth and nail out there.
"The challenge now is to put that behind us and focus on Friday. It’s a balance between not trying to think about that too much and using some of the pain to try to really step up and make sure we go out there and do ourselves proud.”
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It was Steward's first World Cup - the same with Ben Earl. The Saracens star often filled in at No. 8 and was one of the standout performers for Steve Borthwick's side. He admitted that it would be “very, very hard” to pick themselves up and go again.
Freddie Steward admits he's struggled to come to terms with England's semi-final defeatEngland have no choice though with a third-place play-off to come against Argentina on Friday night. The Pumas were well beaten by New Zealand who, like South Africa, will go for their fourth World Cup triumph in Saturday's final in Paris.
Several of the England squad look to have played their last ever World Cup - Courtney Lawes among them. The next generation is now poised to push through, with some of them being given opportunities throughout the tournament in France.
Australia will host the next World Cup in four years' time and Borthwick said after the agonising defeat: "As you look at the team, in that 23 there were seven players 25 or under. South Africa had one. There’s a great blend within this squad and there’ll be lots of things we can take forward. We put ourselves in a position but we came up short.”