Earl and England look ahead to Rugby World Cup semi-final<\/h3>\n

Maro Itoje has issued an eve-of-battle rallying cry ahead of his team\u2019s Rugby World Cup semi-final with South Africa, telling England this is their moment.\u00a0Itoje, who will have Leicester rookie George Martin alongside him in the second row,\u00a0 believes England have it in them to upset the World\u2019s No 1-ranked side at the Stade de France.<\/p>\n

But that is only if they rise to the occasion. \u201cI feel we haven\u2019t seen the best of us yet. I believe the best is yet to come. And I believe that if we put our best out on the field, we are going to be celebrating on Saturday night,\u201d said Itoje.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a different feel this week. There’s a heightened sense of awareness, a heightened sense of what needs to be done. When you get to these games, a lot of people say, \u2018it\u2019s just another game\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just another game. This is a special game. You don\u2019t get many opportunities like this. It is about us seizing the moment. Obviously they are the current world champions, they\u2019ve had a very good World Cup.<\/p>\n

DON’T MISS: <\/strong> England coach warns Tom Curry after star accused of ‘violent’ World Cup tackle<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  \u201cBut we\u2019re not talking about a team that has never lost, we\u2019re not talking about a team that is without fault. They are a good team but so are we.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  \u201cFor us, it is just about imposing our game. We don\u2019t want to sit back and just watch them do their thing. We want to be England rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n

  Martin, 22, will start just his fourth Test for England with Joe Marler also promoted and Freddie Steward returning at full-back. \u201cI know we’ve got a great group of players who care deeply about representing England,\u201d said head coach Steve Borthwick.<\/p>\n

  Buy all of your Rugby World Cup 2023 programmes here.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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  \u201cI want to make sure they put in a performance we’re all proud of and our supporters are proud of on Saturday night.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

  There is no Marcus Smith as he is still going through the return-to-play protocols after showing concussion symptoms following last weekend\u2019s quarter-final.<\/p>\n

  Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Earl and England look ahead to Rugby World Cup semi-final Maro Itoje has issued an eve-of-battle rallying cry ahead of his team\u2019s Rugby World Cup semi-final with South Africa, telling England this is their moment.\u00a0Itoje, who will have Leicester rookie George Martin alongside him in the second row,\u00a0 believes England have it in them to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n