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Date: 2023-12-02 14:31:18 | Author: UEFA | Views: 456 | Tag: sports
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Not always in sport do you get a shot at redemption and successfully taking advantage of that opportunity is even rarer sports
England’s pack, and their front row in particular, will have had four years of sleepless nights about that early November evening in 2019 sports
In the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, England were decimated by South Africa’s power up front, as the brilliance of a scintillating semi-final win over New Zealand was quickly replaced by the humiliation of a 32-12 thumping sports
The Springboks, then as now, pride themselves on their physicality and brutality at the breakdown, the set-piece and in open play sports
Yet on a rainy night in Paris four years on, England’s pack fronted up, set the platform in a thrilling World Cup semi-final and earned their redemption arc sports
Yet it still wasn’t enough sports
This time, albeit by one point rather than 20, the result was the same – England’s players slumped on the turf in despair while their opponents revelled in victory sports
The Springbok celebrations were more muted this time, understandably so given there is one more crucial match against the All Blacks standing sports between them and their ultimate goal, but the English heartbreak was the same, even if the journey to get there was vastly different sports
In Yokohama, South Africa won a scarcely believable 11 scrums to England’s three, including six scrum penalties, as the English eight were splintered time and again sports
Dan Cole became the fall guy for that embarrassment – the tighthead prop, supposedly renowned for his scrummaging, forced to play 77 minutes after Kyle Sinckler’s early injury and being obliterated by the combination of Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira and Steven Kitshoff sports
The fact that Cole and Joe Marler, who came off the bench early in the second half that day, were selected by Steve Borthwick to start this revenge game precisely because of their scrum prowess will have surely given them a surge of confidence sports
And the fact they not only survived, but thrived, in the front row this time around will have been sheer vindication sports
Borthwick entrusted the duo to paint an early picture of scrum parity to referee Ben O’Keeffe and they delivered, providing the base that led to multiple first-half penalties from the trusty boot of Owen Farrell sports
Cole and Marler helped ensure scrum parity early on but that faded once the replacements came on (AFP via Getty Images)However, as the game wore on, Borthwick’s decision started to become prescient for the wrong reasons sports
As Sinckler and Ellis Genge came on as prop replacements, the Springboks own bomb squad from the bench – led by Ox Nche and Vincent Koch – started to dominate at scrum-time sports
Each engagement started to become eerily reminiscent of 2019 and it was eventually a scrum penalty on halfway that led to Handre Pollard’s decisive, game-winning three-pointer with two minutes to go sports
It felt almost unfair on England’s big men given that the pack, as a whole, had more than held their own in other facets sports
Of the 13 England forwards who played some part in that 2019 final, eight appeared in this last-four clash and stamped their mark all over a first half that was by far England’s best 40 minutes under Borthwick sports
Maro Itoje was a lineout fiend, stealing a Springboks throw-in on halfway and putting doubt in the head of Bongi Mbonambi, whose crooked throw in his own 22 gave Farrell his first penalty goal of the day sports
A new face from four years, George Martin, justified his surprise second-row selection ahead of incumbent Ollie Chessum on just his fourth Test start as he brilliantly marshalled England’s maul defence sports
If Boks lock Eben Etzesports beth is world rugby’s best maul disruptor, then he may have witnessed first-hand the emergence of a new challenger to that crown sports
Martin caused havoc as England improbably won three consecutive maul turnovers from attacking South African lineouts in the first half to frustrate their much-fancied opponents sports
Pollard ultimately kicked the winning penalty, from a scrum infringement (PA Wire)The celebrations from the likes of Itoje, Jamie George and Ben Earl as those penalties and free-kicks were earned by the pack showed just how important this part of the gameplan was sports
It began putting clear doubt in Springbok minds, as the worried tone from skipper Siya Kolisi when he discussed matter with referee O’Keeffe sports betrayed sports
The English tactic of throwing bodies in to contest every ruck relied on the diesel engines of the forwards and they delivered by dominating collisions and allowing the aerial bombardment strategy that followed to be effective sports
But ultimately, despite a gameplan executed as well as it possibly could have been, the gap in quality sports between the sides proved too much to overcome sports
South Africa adjusted, Pollard came on for Manie Libbok to dictate proceedings with his metronomic boot and English heartbreak ensued sports
There was no shame in a one-point defeat from a semi-final that was much closer than most expected and England’s pack should feel redeemed from the nightmare of 2019 sports
But that won’t make this semi-final hurt any less sports
Perhaps 2027 will give them an opportunity to avenge a new pain sports
More aboutEngland RugbySouth Africa rugbyRugby World CupDan ColeJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3England pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakCole and Marler helped ensure scrum parity early on but that faded once the replacements came on AFP via Getty ImagesEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakPollard ultimately kicked the winning penalty, from a scrum infringement PA WireEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakDan Cole was England’s fall guy in 2019 but held his own four years on AP✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today sports
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Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has expressed his delight with the way his side successfully chased down 283 runs in a stunning upset against Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 sports
Afghanistan on Monday clinched their second win in the 2023 World Cup by comfortably beating Pakistan by eight wickets at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium sports
It marked Afghanistan’s first-ever One-Day International (ODI) victory against their neighbours sports
Overjoyed Afghanistan skipper Shahidi, who scored the winning run, said the victory that ended their seven-match losing streak to Pakistan “tastes sweet” sports
Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi said the win was bigger than the one against England earlier in the tournament sports
RecommendedAustralia vs Netherlands LIVE: Cricket score and updates from ODI World CupDavid Warner and Mitchell Marsh tons guide Australia to World Cup win over PakistanJoe Root acknowledges growing uncertainty surrounding future of ODI cricket“This win tastes sweet sports
The way we chased was very professional sports
Looking forward to the other games sports
The way we chased today, we’ll do it again,” Shahidi said at the post-match presentation on Monday sports
“The quality cricket that we have been playing from the last couple of years, the belief was there when we were playing the Asia Cup also sports
”“At the start of the tournament, I said that we want to make this tournament historic for our country’s people sports
First was England, and today Pakistan; looking forward to the other games sports
We’ll try our best to play positive cricket and do a lot for our country in this World Cup sports
”Afghanistan produced an all-round effort against Pakistan, who fell short in their bowling and fielding, according to their captain Babar Azam sports
The spin team of Afghanistan, as anticipated, were excellent on the Chennai track, with only Mujeeb Ur Rahman finishing with an economy of over six sports
The rest of the spinners – Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed and Nabi – leaked just three or four runs an over in their respective 10-over spells sports
“The spin bowling department did very well sports
We gave Noor a chance and trusted in him and he showed his talent sports
The way Gurbaz and Ibrahim started the innings, gave that momentum and confidence sports
The game was in our hands from the beginning till the end sports
The last partnership that me and Rahmat played was also good,” said the Afghan skipper sports
Nabi, meanwhile, was thrilled to finally get a victory over Pakistan in the 50-over format sports
“It’s a big moment for the whole team, but also whole [of] Afghanistan as well sports
We have been waiting for the last 10-12 years sports
We have played around eight games against Pakistan, and we won one game in a big event,” said Nabi in a post-match interview sports
“It’s a big achievement for the guys sports
For the last three months, we’ve been working very hard sports
We played a series against Pakistan, then the Asia Cup, and then came here to the World Cup sports
It’s a lovely moment today sports
”Afghanistan jumped to sixth place in the Cricket World Cup 2023 points table, while Pakistan remained in the fifth spot sports
Pakistan’s team has four points from five games with a net run rate of -0 sports
400 sports
Their road to the semi-final looks tough now as their remaining group games are against South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand and England sports
South Africa and New Zealand are in top form while England are the defending champions sports
More aboutSouth AfricaEnglandICC Cricket World Cup 2023Join our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/1Afghanistan captain on his side’s stunning cricket upset against PakAfghanistan captain on his side’s stunning cricket upset against PakAfghanistan's Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi celebrate after winning the match by 8 wicketsREUTERS✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today sports
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicssports BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy sports
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply sports
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