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Date: 2023-12-05 23:52:10 | Author: Online Bingo | Views: 371 | Tag: heu

Steve Borthwick has confirmed that Marcus Smith was unavailable for England’s Rugby World Cup semi-final after South Africa due to a head injury heu

Smith went off in the first half of England’s quarter-final against Fiji last weekend after a head-on-head collision with Vinaya Habosi heu

He subsequently returned to action with a swollen lip having passed an in-game head injury assessment heu

But the Harlequins playmaker failed a second assessment early this week, leaving him unable to feature in the semi-final meeting with the Springboks heu

Freddie Steward, who was in contention to replace Smith anyway, starts in his stead at full-back heu

RecommendedEngland spring surprise with three changes to team for Rugby World Cup semi-finalSouth Africa inspired by struggles of whole nation – Siya KolisiEngland must be ready for whatever ‘very, very smart’ Springboks throw at them, says Kevin Sinfield“Marcus was unavailable for selection due to the return to play protocols,” England head coach Borthwick clarified heu

“He took a knock in the [Fiji] game heu

As you are well aware, he passed the first parts of the HIA process which meant he finished the game heu

Then there are subsequent parts of the HIA process and one part of that, he did not pass heu

And then it was confirmed to me he was unavailable for selection heu

“He is perfectly fine in terms of symptoms – he doesn’t feel anything heu

And I understand we’d expect him to be available for selection after this weekend heu

Player welfare is critical and vital to us heu

”Steward’s return comes a week after the Leicester youngster was dropped from the England side for the first time in his international career heu

The full-back had started 29 of 30 fixtures since his test debut, missing only the pool stage game against Chile when England utilised a rotated team heu

Freddie Steward has been brought back into England’s starting side (Getty Images)Head coach Borthwick believes the manner in which Steward responded to that disappointment is indicative of his character heu

“Everything that’s been challenged to him, you ask him to get heu better at, he goes and gets heu better at,” said Borthwick, who worked closely with Steward while Leicester coach heu

“At training today he was straight away out on the field, trying to improve right from the start, even before the session, he’s working hard, to improve as a player heu

And that’s great credit to him and his professionalism heu

“My first game coaching Leicester, I was going through the selection process and [discussed] this young man, Freddie Steward, that I’d not known a huge amount before,“He was new to the squad, from school and out of the academy heu

Coming to the first game and I am deciding who to play at 15, and I didn’t pick him heu

“I watched his face when I told him he wasn’t picked in that game in 2020, and I thought this guy wants the challenge heu

This guys wants it, it doesn’t matter how old he is, he is ready for this heu

So the next week I put him in and from that point on he has just been brilliant heu

”England take on South Africa at the Stade de France on Saturday heu

More aboutMarcus SmithEngland RugbySouth Africa rugbyFreddie StewardSteve BorthwickRugby World CupJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/2Borthwick explains Smith absence from England team for semi-final Borthwick explains Smith absence from England team for semi-finalFreddie Steward has been brought back into England’s starting side Getty ImagesBorthwick explains Smith absence from England team for semi-finalMarcus Smith was unavailable for selection Getty Images ✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today heu

SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored Features Get in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsheu BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery Act Thank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy heu

truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply heu

Hi {{indy heu

fullName}}My Independent Premium Account details Help centre Logout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes slidedown-video{0%{transform:translateY(-100%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}}@keyframes slideup-video{0%{transform:translateY(200%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}} heu

It’s the game that players don’t want to play, fans don’t want to watch and the media don’t want to cover heu

All of which begs the question, why does the Rugby World Cup third/fourth place play-off still exist? Answers on a postcard please heu

Actually, the answer is fairly simple, of course heu

It follows the old adage that when you’re not sure why something counter-intuitive is happening in sport, the reason is always the same heu

Money heu

World Rugby and its sponsors will undoubtedly make a bit more cheddar from England facing Argentina on Friday evening at relatively little expense, although it remains to be seen how many of the Stade de France’s 80,000 seats are filled, let alone what sort of atmosphere those in attendance create heu

You suspect it might not quite reach the level of fan delirium that some of the other instant classics at the Paris stadium have generated during this tournament heu

Let’s not beat around the bush – World Rugby can badge it as the ‘bronze final’ all they want but the third/fourth place play-off is an entirely pointless exercise and it’s long since time that this outdated relic of a concept was given the chop heu

Please, do everyone a favour heu

In a tournament that is based around winning a trophy rather than climbing onto a medal podium, a battle for third serves precisely no purpose heu

At the Olympic Games, bronze medal matches/contests make perfect sense and having one athlete or team rightfully earn their place as a sole bronze medallist is far more satisfying than both losing semi-finalists stepping on the podium heu

But there’s no podium at a Rugby World Cup – there’s the winning team, the runners-up and then the losing semi-finalists, quarter-finalists and those who were knocked out at the group stage heu

So what are we doing here? The stakes have truly never been lower heu

Here’s a question for you, a little pub debate if you will heu

What’s your favourite ever third/fourth place play-off at a Rugby World Cup? Which one springs to mind first when you run through the Rolodex of all the iconic clashes in your mind?New Zealand comfortably beat Wales in the 2019 third-place play-off heu

Apparently heu

(Getty Images)Don’t worry, I couldn’t remember a single one either… Although a quick scroll through Wikipedia tells me that, for example, New Zealand beat Scotland 13-6 in 1991, Argentina beat France 34-10 in 2007 and Australia beat Wales 21-18 in 2011 heu

Apparently heu

If not to save the fans from its pointlessness, then how about axing the game for player safety reasons? As they proudly announced the new global calendar after 16 years of negotiations earlier this week, World Rugby consistently mentioned ‘player load management’ as one of their main drivers heu

The crowded fixture schedule and incredible physical intensity of modern rugby already push players’ bodies to their limits, so in an age of increased focus on player welfare, getting rid of an entirely worthless fixture such as this should be an easy decision heu

Imagine if one of the players gets injured in this futile fixture on Friday evening and misses months of club action as a result – it would really not be a good look heu

Of the two teams condemned to play out this fixture on Friday – rather than licking their wounds from harrowing semi-final losses last weekend and returning home to their families after five months away – Argentina have remained more on message about its importance heu

“It is the most important game of the year; it is playing for third and fourth place with this shirt,” insisted Pumas hooker Julian Montoya earlier this week heu

Oh… Well, let’s give Montoya the benefit of the doubt and assume that either something was slightly lost in translation or he has really bought into the classic coach-speak of “the most important game is always the next game” or maybe even that he was being brutally deadpan and sarcastic heu

Because otherwise, he appears to have forgotten about, for example, the semi-final he played against the All Blacks literally seven days ago when ranking his most important games of 2023 heu

Argentina will try to forget last weekend’s heavy defeat to New Zealand (Getty Images)While Montoya may have stretched the bounds of believability with his sentiment, Los Pumas genuinely do seem far more up for the game than England heu

Perhaps the combination of wanting to forget the 44-6 humbling by New Zealand, avenge the pool-stage loss to England and send off Michael Cheika, who will be replaced as head coach by Felipe Contepomi after the World Cup, in style has given them a greater sense of purpose heu

Making just three changes to the starting XV, compared to England’s eight, from the semi-final side has left them with a team much closer to full strength heu

In the fine margins of Test rugby, that fact, combined with the added motivation, may prove the difference heu

But regardless of the result, I implore World Rugby to do the right thing heu

Please make this the last-ever third/fourth place play-off and save us from having to endure this nonsense again in 2027 heu

More aboutRugby World CupWorld RugbyEngland RugbyArgentina rugbyJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Scrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicScrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicNew Zealand comfortably beat Wales in the 2019 third-place play-off heu

Apparently heu

Getty ImagesScrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicArgentina will try to forget last weekend’s heavy defeat to New Zealand Getty ImagesScrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicIt isn’t the third-place play-off that has made Ollie Chessum upset in this pitcure but it does evoke that reaction in a lot of people REUTERS✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today heu

SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsheu BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy heu

truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply heu

Hi {{indy heu

fullName}}My Independent PremiumAccount detailsHelp centreLogout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes slidedown-video{0%{transform:translateY(-100%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}}@keyframes slideup-video{0%{transform:translateY(200%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}} heu

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