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The 'just what we needed' England reaction to winning ugly in Lille
England No8 Ben Earl has shaken off his team’s scratchy display versus Samoa, claiming it was exactly what they needed heading into the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
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Three September wins were enough for Steve Borthwick’s side to already qualify for their October 15 knockout stage game in Marseille, but they came within a whisker of heading into that fixture on the back of a group-ending defeat to Samoa.
The Pacific Islanders led for 44 minutes of the Pool D encounter in Lille and even after a converted Danny Care try put England back in front on 73 minutes, they needed a last-gasp try-saving tackle from their replacement scrum-half 75 seconds from full-time to protect their 18-17 victory.
England’s sluggishness revived memories of their poor Summer Nations Series performances in August, but Earl, who has established himself at the finals at his team’s first choice No8, claimed what unfolded versus Samoa was the perfect tee-up going into next weekend’s last-eight match, most likely versus Fiji, a team they lost to in the warm-ups.
“It was just what we needed,” reckoned Earl about a dramatic spectacle in which England only looked comfortable in the opening period when they strode into an early 8-0 lead. “This is a World Cup and there are going to be some good teams.
Match Summary 
2
Penalty Goals
1
2
Tries
2
1
Conversions
2
0
Drop Goals
0
92
Carries
110
8
Line Breaks
7
16
Turnovers Lost
12
7
Turnovers Won
5
“Every team has strengths and they are going to have massively good moments and purple patches. We have got to find a way to ride them out and we are pleased with the way we stuck at it.
“It had that feeling at times where they [Samoa] played without consequences. It felt like that was their biggest game of the campaign, they wanted to end on a high and fair play to them, I thought they were brilliant. They showed us where there are some holes in our game and we will be better for that experience.
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“We have seen glimpses of how good Samoa can be and that was probably their best game of the tournament. We certainly felt like we started the game well but in that middle 20, 30 minutes it felt like we weren’t quite at it.
“But we are just so pleased we found a way to win ugly. They played as well as we did but we won at the end of the day and that is what we will take away from it.”
Marcus Smith was one of the subs introduced from the bench in the second half to make good England’s comeback, the out-half coming on for George Ford and playing at full-back, a reshuffle that resulted in Freddie Steward switching to the wing and Owen Farrell moving from inside centre to No10.
“I thoroughly enjoyed watching that,” said Smith about his vantage point for 50-odd minutes from the England bench. “I saw 15 of my teammates who were trying their hardest. Massive credit has to go to Samoa.
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“We knew how passionate they are and how hard they were going to come out of the blocks. We got a good start and they came back into it as we expected. Watching from the sidelines, I was excited about getting the opportunity to come on.
What was the message he was given when introduced with England chasing a scoreboard deficit? “To be myself, to add energy and add communication from the back, try to add my super-strengths. When you get that message it gives you a lot of confidence to go out there, be yourself and watch a World Cup match, which is always special.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Just came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
229 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
229 Go to comments