England coach Steve Borthwick said he had no doubt his players would be written off for the Rugby World Cup semifinals, but backed them to once again rise to the occasion after scrambling past Fiji in Marseille on Sunday.
Owen Farrell kicked 20 points and Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant crossed for tries as England battled to a 30-24 quarterfinal victory over the Fijians to earn a meeting with the winner of Sunday's later quarterfinal between France and reigning champions South Africa.
"An immense credit to players for dealing with it. But what a performance by Fiji, not just tonight but this World Cup," Borthwick said.