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England praised for stunning sportsmanship after RWC win

Author
Newstalk ZB, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Sun, 27 Oct 2019, 4:11PM
Anthony Watson of England consoles Anton Lienert-Brown. (Photo / AP)

England praised for stunning sportsmanship after RWC win

Author
Newstalk ZB, NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Sun, 27 Oct 2019, 4:11PM

England have won the battle - and may have also won hearts - with their performance during and immediately after the Rugby World Cup semifinal against the All Blacks in Yokohama City.

In what could be one of the lasting images from the tournament, English winger Anthony Watson was photographed consoling a dejected All Blacks midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown on the International Stadium pitch.

Watson and his teammates had just shocked the All Blacks 19-7 to send the back-to-back champions crashing out and ending their campaign in search of a historic three-peat.

In the image, Watson has his hand on Lienert-Brown's shoulder while a bloodied All Blacks flanker Sam Cane is seen on his knees.

New Zealand's Jordie Barrett is consoled after New Zealand is defeated by England. Photo / AP

New Zealand's Jordie Barrett is consoled after New Zealand is defeated by England. Photo / AP

Other photos showed England stars being similarly gracious in victory to dejected All Blacks.

Earlier in the week, Watson fired a barb at the All Blacks claiming that he never bought into the All Blacks' "aura".

"I was never too fazed by the whole mystique of the All Blacks. I respect the prolonged success they've had as a team, but the whole aura that surrounds them and the invincible stuff – I never bought into that. They are rugby players and we're rugby players. We work very hard and they work very hard. They are definitely beatable.

"I believe I had that mindset before: that they were beatable. The boys came close to beating them in November."

Watson had earlier warned that England's mental game would be a major point of difference ahead of the final - following their comprehensive quarter-final victory against Australia.

"We will not let the occasion of the game dictate anything to us," he said. "I thought we did that very well last weekend and that was managed by our leaders like Owen [Farrell], Maro [Itoje] and Mako [Vunipola]. Guys like that were on it all week and it will be the same again this week."

 

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