Itoje: These Boks are beatable
PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW: England are adamant the bookmakers and pundits who are listing them as ‘underdogs’ against South Africa in the World Cup semifinal are way off the mark.
Unlike four years ago, when Eddie Jones’ England team powered past the All Blacks in the semifinals and appeared to be a shoe-in for the trophy, it is the Springboks who will start as favourites at Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.
The Boks, despite having lost 8-13 to Ireland in a pool match last month, responsed magnificently – producing a nail-biting 29-28 win over the hosts France in last week’s quaeterfinal, which saw them knock the Irish off the top of the world rankings.
All parts of the machine appear to be in top working order and meshing superbly – the forwards with the backs, the replacemrnt with the starters.
However, veteran lock Maro Itoje said there was no need to put South Africa on a pedestal.
“They are the current World Champions,” he said.
“They’ve had a very good World Cup, but we’ve played them twice since 2019.
“They’ve won one, we’ve won one.
“We’re not talking about a team that’s never lost.
“We’re not talking about a team that is without fault.
“They are a good team but so are we.”
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Itoje said the key for England is to focus on the match.
“If you’re lucky, you manage to get two or three games of his magnitude, but over the course of a career, that’s not many.
“So we’re aware this an opportunity to take the bull by the horns.”
He hinted that England’s best performance is still to come.
“That’s what I believe,” Itoje told a pre-match media briefing.
“I believe that there is a huge amount of potential in this team.
“You haven’t seen the best of us yet.”
He added that he believes England’s best will get them the whole way.
“If we put our best out on the field we will be celebrating on Saturday and have a positive night.”
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