Owen Farrell caught in 'disgraceful' furore during England win over Fiji

England captain Owen Farrell had the perfect response to the haters after masterminding his side's great escape against Fiji at the Rugby World Cup. England looked like comfortably booking their spot in the semi-finals after leading 21-10 at halftime, but the brave Fijians crossed for second half tries to level the scores, before Farrell's boot got the English home 30-24.

The England captain was booed by his own fans before kick-off when his name was confirmed in the starting XV by the ground announcer in Marseille. Farrell is often a divisive figure for England supporters, many of whom were obviously hoping George Ford would be preferred to the skipper as No.10, having starred at the same ground a few weeks ago.

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However, Farrell did plenty to silence the haters by full-time after booting 20 points for his side, including a crucial go-ahead field goal when the scores were locked at 24-all late on. The England skipper also converted a late penalty to complete the six-point win for England that sets up a mouthwatering semi-final showdown with South Africa, who won a thrilling contest against hosts France 29-28.

Having trailed by 11 points at halftime, Fiji turned on their attacking flair in the second half after crossing for tries through prop Peni Ravai and flyhalf Vilimoni Botitu to level proceedings with just over 10 minutes to play. Ultimately, the Fijians couldn't complete the comeback in their bid to become the first tier-two team to get to the semi-finals since the game went professional after the 1995 World Cup.

"It was what we expected," Farrell said. "They are a tough, tough team that can turn it on in the blink of an eye. "I thought we started the game really well and to find a way to win and get through to the semi-finals is a big step forward."

Farrell was perhaps fortunate to avoid a yellow card after 80 minutes for a deliberate knock-on in centre-field, as Fiji went in search of the try and conversion needed to snatch a famous victory. Maro Itoje produced the match-clinching turnover in the sixth minute of added-on time.

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England's heart-stopping triumph was sweet vindication for Farrell after he was unceremoniously booed by his own supporters before kick-off. The unsavoury scenes were condemned by many fans on social media.

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England will be underdogs in their semi-final clash against South Africa on Saturday but that might yet work in their favour, with expectations likely to be low - at least outside the squad. Fiji's late rally at least meant one of the tournament's sentimental favourites didn't exit with a whimper and their campaign, featuring an unfortunate loss to Wales and a storied win over Australia, will still be celebrated back home by the rugby-mad fans.

The Fijians paid the price for a slow start in which they surprisingly got dominated at the breakdown. England centres Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant both scored tries in the opening 23 minutes while Fiji winger Vinaya Habosi got sin-binned for head-on-head contact.

Fiji's open-play threat did materialise in the final half-hour and it thrilled the crowd at Stade Velodrome, where Argentina had beaten Wales on Saturday. Just as in New Zealand's titanic win over Ireland the night before, there was late drama as Fiji went through the phases with the clock in the red, only to see England hang on for a thrilling victory.

with agencies

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