15 October 2023 , 20:56
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Steve Borthwick hailed Owen Farrell as captain ‘fantastic’ after he kicked unfancied England and into the World Cup semi-finals.
England’s boss angrily hit out at those who doubted his team’s ability after they beat Fiji with Farrell’s late drop goal winner.
But he lavished praise on Farrell who he controversially picked ahead of George Ford to start the Marseille clash.
Borthwick said: “Owen is a fantastic leader, the kind I know I’d want to follow onto a pitch, a brilliant player who thrives in a contest
“In these big occasions he just gets even better. He should be very proud of his performance and how he led the team.”
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Farrell’s 20-point haul booked England a last-four clash against South Africa after Fiji came back from the dead to threaten a major upset.
Two tries in five minutes in the final quarter turned a cakewalk for England into the stuff of nightmares as Fiji levelled at 24-24.
“A couple of thunderbolts hit the team in quick succession,” Borthwick admitted. “Not so long ago England were not coming back to win that game. This team did.
"We don’t forget there’s a fair number of people who said we won’t make it out of group and a fair number who said we would lose tonight. Many people wrote that.
“I don’t really care what other people think of us, I care about the development of the team, which is determined to be successful.”
Borthwick picked Farrell for his ‘big game’ quality despite it being only his second start at fly-half since being sent off in August.
The Saracens star delivered in style, though was quick to praise his forwards for putting him in position to pull the trigger.
“There was no panic, no feeling sorry for ourselves,.” he said. “The forwards got us on the front foot. We managed to get ourselves in position to win it.”