England Finish Third in Rugby World Cup 2023: A Bittersweet Victory

The game: not exciting, not so dull

The start of the match, like ping-pong rugby, made us fear a repeat of the semi-final between England and South Africa, poor in terms of spectacle. But the XV de la Rose was not as forbidding as last week, in milder conditions on Friday evening at the Stade de France, as the start of Marcus Smith suggested and as the well-constructed try scored by Ben Earl illustrated it.

Without going to excess, Steve Borthwick’s men still tried to lock down this small World Cup final, facing the Pumas who were inclined to race the game. The Argentines thought they would achieve it, around half-time, but their rivals restored the situation in the blink of an eye (see the X factor) before suffering until the end to win this match 26-23 by average technical level.

Owen Farrell during the Rugby World Cup 2023 3rd place match between Argentina and England

Credit: Getty Images

The players: Underhill tireless, Kremer imprecise

Named man of the match, Sam Underhill was extremely active defensively (24 tackles), while Earl, one of his friends in the third line, was effective offensively. English captain Owen Farrell, 100% against the poles, scored 16 of his team’s 26 points.

The Argentinian Mateo Carreras, author of a spectacular percussion on Smith, covered 93 meters with ball in hand (highest total of the match). His teammate Marcos Kremer committed several forwards and was not very effective in his notable outburst of energy (18 tackles).

The joy of the English after a try from Theo Dan during the match for 3rd place of the 2023 Rugby World Cup between Argentina and England

Credit: Getty Images

The X factor: 2 trials in 2 minutes

Argentina only led for a few seconds during this match. Time for Theo Dan to right his mistake. The English hooker had just let Santiago Carreras escape (42nd, 16-17) when he countered the same Pumas number 10 to put his team back in front (44th, 23-17). The role of hero of the day shifted between these two players in the space of two minutes.

The image: the flight of Gonzalez

The spectacular touch counter from the Argentine alignment, with Juan Martin Gonzalez thrown by his “lifters”.

At the state’: 1

England, winners of the event in 2003 and losing finalist three times, finished third in the World Cup for the first time.

L’action

A first-hand attack from the Argentines could have taken everyone into overtime. But Nicolas Sanchez, perfect in his running and his transmission, during a scrum reversal which allowed Mateo Carreras to be shifted, did not succeed in the equalizing penalty, in a tight angle from the left side (75th) .

The declaration

We stuck to our game plan, without panicking (Underhill)

The question: can England look to the future calmly?

The XV de la Rose therefore managed to climb onto the podium of the 2023 World Cup, in a Stade de France almost full for this penultimate game, but two-thirds empty during the post-match ceremony. Such a result is miraculous, considering what this historically moribund England has achieved this year. But it is rather logical, if we stick to the relative mastery shown by Farrell and co. facing less well organized Argentinians, whom they have also beaten twice in the competition.

The English won all the matches they “had to” win and lost the one they “had to” lose. They have a certain merit in having thus taken advantage of a favorable table, to obtain a third place which does not reflect their rank in the world hierarchy. The rugby they offered, however, was nothing to write home about. It’s too early to be harsh on the game developed by Steve Borthwick, who is in year 1 as boss. But it is undoubtedly too early, too, to consider that the recovery operation of English rugby is on the right track.

What should we expect in the final? “It’s not going to be won on a chistera”

2023-10-27 22:08:00
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