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What Chile make of Borthwick's 'pragmatic, organised' England
Chile head coach Pablo Lemoine has insisted that his Rugby World Cup newcomers must embrace the biggest fixture in their history when they clash with England on Saturday.
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Los Condores have gone down fighting against Japan and Samoa so far but in Steve Borthwick’s team, they face the heavyweights of Pool D.
“We do not have opportunities to play against the tier one. To improve, we must take advantage of these opportunities,” Lemoine said. “You have to play and enjoy it because it is surely the most important game in Chile’s history.
“England have a pragmatic, organised game. A lot of kicking game, a lot of strategy, with high-class players looking to counter-attack. I imagine a lot of aggressiveness in the forwards.
“We have been watching them. We saw their games with Argentina and Japan, and ultimately we will have to be intelligent and not commit penalties because it is an important platform for them. I hope we can accomplish that part of the plan.”
Chile captain Martin Sigren, who played for Doncaster in the Championship, believes facing England is the chance of a lifetime for his side.
“It’s a huge challenge. There are very few opportunities one has to face a team with as much history as England and on a Rugby World Cup stage. We want to take advantage of it and enjoy it to the fullest,” Sigren said.
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“They are going to look to exhaust us emotionally and see if we give up, which will make it easier for them. That is what we want to fight and it is the most important challenge. We have to be in the fight and battle during the 80 minutes regardless of the score.”
It was raining heavily on Friday when minnows Chile went through their eve-of-match paces in Lille ahead of taking on England at the Rugby World Cup. #ENGvCHI #RWC2023 @chilerugby @Condores_rugby pic.twitter.com/lc9aF9ZFA7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 22, 2023
