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England star Owen Farrell has spoken out after being criticized ahead of his team’s Rugby World Cup win over Fiji on Sunday night.
The fly-half scored 20 in his side’s 30-24 win, with Steve Borthwick’s side now set to face South Africa in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Farrell is a controversial figure in rugby these days.
He was originally suspended for the first two matches of the Rugby World Cup, with George Ford selected as his replacement.
Owen Farrell was player of the match as England beat Fiji to boost hopes of Rugby World Cup glory
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Farrell was criticized by England fans before their win on Sunday night before he stepped up and produced the goods.
And the 32-year-old ignored the incident after the game, instead praising his team for the way they performed in France.
“It’s exactly what we expected,” said the veteran, who has scored more points for England than any other player in their entire history.
“They’re a tough, tough team that can turn it on in the blink of an eye.
“I thought we started the game very well. We really got going after that in the first half.
“We always knew Fiji was going to have some good patches and it did.
“Finding a way to win and get to the semi-finals is a big step, but we know we have a lot of work to do.”
Farrell helped England with a late drop goal and a penalty after Fiji made a strong comeback.
Yet when the England star finished his show, he was quick to praise the rest of his team-mates.
“The forwards did a great job and set it up for us,” he said. “I just had to get it over with.”
England’s next match is against South Africa on Saturday.
And Borthwick, Farrell and the rest of the team will be out for revenge given what happened four years ago.
In 2019, England made the final in Japan in the hope of achieving glory.
But South Africa defeated them 32–12, with 12.8 million people watching the match in the UK.
South Africa were aggressive against France on Sunday and ended the hosts’ dreams of progressing to a 29-28 win.
Meanwhile, Borthwick praised England for silencing their critics after the win over Fiji.
After the game he said, “I don’t really care what other people think about us, I care about the development of the team.”
“I thought the players were fantastic, the whole team worked hard to get that result.
“After the performance, you have to give Fiji a lot of credit, they won a fantastic World Cup and I’m glad we found a way to win that game.
“For most people we were in control, there was a spell in the middle of the second half where they scored back-to-back tries and they are the only team in the world that can do that – but I was pleased with the performance of the players after that. Handled it.
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England players celebrate with Owen Farrell after defeating Fiji in the Rugby World Cup
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“A lot has been written about these players and what I see is a group that can handle these opportunities and rise to the occasion.
“It’s been a great week for us, it’s been a great part of the world to prepare, but Paris is a bit special so we’re looking forward to it.
“We don’t forget that there are a lot of people who said we will not get out of the group and there are a lot of people who said we will lose tonight and I am sure we will be eliminated again.
“But this team is determined to succeed.”
