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Date: 2023-11-29 00:38:10 | Author: Olympics 2024 | Views: 277 | Tag: jili
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Not always in sport do you get a shot at redemption and successfully taking advantage of that opportunity is even rarer jili
England’s pack, and their front row in particular, will have had four years of sleepless nights about that early November evening in 2019 jili
In the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, England were decimated by South Africa’s power up front, as the brilliance of a scintillating semi-final win over New Zealand was quickly replaced by the humiliation of a 32-12 thumping jili
The Springboks, then as now, pride themselves on their physicality and brutality at the breakdown, the set-piece and in open play jili
Yet on a rainy night in Paris four years on, England’s pack fronted up, set the platform in a thrilling World Cup semi-final and earned their redemption arc jili
Yet it still wasn’t enough jili
This time, albeit by one point rather than 20, the result was the same – England’s players slumped on the turf in despair while their opponents revelled in victory jili
The Springbok celebrations were more muted this time, understandably so given there is one more crucial match against the All Blacks standing jili between them and their ultimate goal, but the English heartbreak was the same, even if the journey to get there was vastly different jili
In Yokohama, South Africa won a scarcely believable 11 scrums to England’s three, including six scrum penalties, as the English eight were splintered time and again jili
Dan Cole became the fall guy for that embarrassment – the tighthead prop, supposedly renowned for his scrummaging, forced to play 77 minutes after Kyle Sinckler’s early injury and being obliterated by the combination of Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira and Steven Kitshoff jili
The fact that Cole and Joe Marler, who came off the bench early in the second half that day, were selected by Steve Borthwick to start this revenge game precisely because of their scrum prowess will have surely given them a surge of confidence jili
And the fact they not only survived, but thrived, in the front row this time around will have been sheer vindication jili
Borthwick entrusted the duo to paint an early picture of scrum parity to referee Ben O’Keeffe and they delivered, providing the base that led to multiple first-half penalties from the trusty boot of Owen Farrell jili
Cole and Marler helped ensure scrum parity early on but that faded once the replacements came on (AFP via Getty Images)However, as the game wore on, Borthwick’s decision started to become prescient for the wrong reasons jili
As Sinckler and Ellis Genge came on as prop replacements, the Springboks own bomb squad from the bench – led by Ox Nche and Vincent Koch – started to dominate at scrum-time jili
Each engagement started to become eerily reminiscent of 2019 and it was eventually a scrum penalty on halfway that led to Handre Pollard’s decisive, game-winning three-pointer with two minutes to go jili
It felt almost unfair on England’s big men given that the pack, as a whole, had more than held their own in other facets jili
Of the 13 England forwards who played some part in that 2019 final, eight appeared in this last-four clash and stamped their mark all over a first half that was by far England’s best 40 minutes under Borthwick jili
Maro Itoje was a lineout fiend, stealing a Springboks throw-in on halfway and putting doubt in the head of Bongi Mbonambi, whose crooked throw in his own 22 gave Farrell his first penalty goal of the day jili
A new face from four years, George Martin, justified his surprise second-row selection ahead of incumbent Ollie Chessum on just his fourth Test start as he brilliantly marshalled England’s maul defence jili
If Boks lock Eben Etzejili beth is world rugby’s best maul disruptor, then he may have witnessed first-hand the emergence of a new challenger to that crown jili
Martin caused havoc as England improbably won three consecutive maul turnovers from attacking South African lineouts in the first half to frustrate their much-fancied opponents jili
Pollard ultimately kicked the winning penalty, from a scrum infringement (PA Wire)The celebrations from the likes of Itoje, Jamie George and Ben Earl as those penalties and free-kicks were earned by the pack showed just how important this part of the gameplan was jili
It began putting clear doubt in Springbok minds, as the worried tone from skipper Siya Kolisi when he discussed matter with referee O’Keeffe jili betrayed jili
The English tactic of throwing bodies in to contest every ruck relied on the diesel engines of the forwards and they delivered by dominating collisions and allowing the aerial bombardment strategy that followed to be effective jili
But ultimately, despite a gameplan executed as well as it possibly could have been, the gap in quality jili between the sides proved too much to overcome jili
South Africa adjusted, Pollard came on for Manie Libbok to dictate proceedings with his metronomic boot and English heartbreak ensued jili
There was no shame in a one-point defeat from a semi-final that was much closer than most expected and England’s pack should feel redeemed from the nightmare of 2019 jili
But that won’t make this semi-final hurt any less jili
Perhaps 2027 will give them an opportunity to avenge a new pain jili
More aboutEngland RugbySouth Africa rugbyRugby World CupDan ColeJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3England pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakCole and Marler helped ensure scrum parity early on but that faded once the replacements came on AFP via Getty ImagesEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakPollard ultimately kicked the winning penalty, from a scrum infringement PA WireEngland pack earn World Cup redemption but suffer new heartbreakDan Cole was England’s fall guy in 2019 but held his own four years on AP✕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 jili
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsjili 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 jili
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 jili
Hi {{indy jili
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)}} jili
First came the crack in Alexander Volkanovski‘s defence jili
Then, the crack in his voice jili
If the first crack was consequential, allowing Islam Makhachev to skim his shin off the Australian’s head, the latter was a consequence in itself – a consequence of one of the best fighters alive staying silent on his struggles with mental health jili
That is, until now jili
Volkanovski would have emerged from UFC 294 with credit anyway; he stepped in on 11 days’ notice and moved up in weight to challenge a man who had beaten him eight months prior jili
Even in this surprising, first-round defeat by Makhachev, Volkanovski lost very little jili
His featherweight title still rests firmly on his shoulder, and he will soon return to that weight class where he has been unbeatable jili
But soon may be too soon jili
In his post-fight press conference, Volkanovski began the dissection of this defeat – his second this year, but just his third as a professional mixed martial artist, with his first having occurred a long decade ago jili
The 35-year-old started to dissect the technical reasons for this knockout loss, but it soon became apparent what was of greater importance: the psychological reasons for his presence in Abu Dhabi jili
“He’s not somebody you should be taking a short-notice [fight] with, but I needed it,” Volkanovski began jili
“Obviously a lot of people will say it’s for the money and all that, but it was much more than that jili
It is hard, it is really hard for athletes jili
jili
jili
Sorry, um jili
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jili
I never thought I would struggle with it,” he continued, ignoring the blood over his eye, instead wiping a tear from beneath it jili
“But for some reason when I wasn’t fighting or in camp jili
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F***, sorry,” he said, attempting a laugh, looking away and to the ceiling, then gently rapping his hand on the table to bring himself back into the room jili
RecommendedIslam Makhachev stuns Alexander Volkanovski with head-kick KO in first round at UFC 294Conor McGregor reacts to ‘illegal’ strikes in Islam Makhachev win at UFC 294Khabib explains why he wasn’t in Islam Makhachev’s corner at UFC 294“I was just doing my head in,” he continued, tears floating at the bottom of his eyes jili
“I needed a fight, and this opportunity came up jili
I’ll be honest: I wasn’t training as much as I should have, but I thought I had to do it jili
I had to take it jili
I’m telling myself, ‘It’s meant to be jili
’ I was struggling a little bit not fighting, doing my head in jili
I don’t know how; everything’s fine, I’ve got a beautiful family jili
But, I don’t know jili
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I think you just need to keep busy jili
I need to be in camp, otherwise, I’m going to do my head in jili
“It’s weird, [it’s not that I] never ‘believed in that stuff’, but I never got it jili
It was something that – I don’t know – maybe the more and more I learn about myself, the more I understand jili
I talked about us having a smile on my face, me and my wife jili
My wife could see it does get hard, I don’t know why jili
”Makhachev consoles Volkanovski after their fight, the main event of UFC 294 (AP)Volkanovski pointed to the birth of his third child, in August, and surgery on an injury this summer as reasons why he had not been training jili
Clearly, the knock-on effect of those moments – as joyous as the former seemed to be – has led Volkanovski’s mental health to suffer jili
Last week, all the talk was of how brave the Australian was to face Makhachev on short notice; braver was this admission that he is struggling, which simultaneously offers a different lens through which to view his choice to fight jili
Keeping himself engaged and busy is healthy, but that is complicated by the inherent risk in his profession jili
“Maybe it was just a silly decision under the circumstances,” he admitted jili
Perhaps it was, though it was also understandable jili
Volkanovski’s next challenge, however, will come outside of the ring jili
It must jili
He naturally sees the antidote to his current struggles as a quick turnaround to fight again, likely against the dangerous Ilia Topuria in January jili
Yet, that fight could go the same way as Saturday’s against Makhachev, if the Australian does not first tackle these thoughts and feelings, and find the right balance for him jili
We knew Alexander Volkanovski was brave jili
That is even clearer now than it was last week jili
Now, however, he must be sensible, and get to work outside the ring before he can return to work in it jili
More aboutAlexander VolkanovskiIslam MakhachevMental HealthJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/2Volkanovski’s bravest move yet? Talking about his mental healthVolkanovski’s bravest move yet? Talking about his mental healthMakhachev consoles Volkanovski after their fight, the main event of UFC 294APVolkanovski’s bravest move yet? Talking about his mental healthVolkanovski, moments after suffering a knockout loss to Islam MakhachevAFP via Getty✕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 jili
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsjili 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 jili
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 jili
Hi {{indy jili
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)}} jili
