England have three players with an extra point to prove vs South Africa

Earl and England look ahead to Rugby World Cup semi-final

A group of England stars will be especially motivated to exact revenge when they take on South Africa at the Rugby World Cup this weekend. Three in particular performed poorly against the Springboks in the 2019 final, with the upcoming semi-final providing a perfect opportunity to make amends.

The Red Rose were broadly unfancied heading into this year’s tournament in France. However, Steve Borthwick’s side have put together a five-match unbeaten streak, including a narrow win over Fiji which punched their ticket to the semis.

South Africa will go into the showdown as favourites, with their high-quality display enough to see off the host nation on Sunday. England, meanwhile, will be desperate to avoid a repeat of the 32-12 humbling that unfolded four years ago.

With kick-off closing in, Express Sport takes you through three current England stars who underwhelmed during the two sides’ last Rugby World Cup meeting…

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Dan Cole

Brought on for the injured Kyle Sinckler in the third minute of the final, Cole was singled out by South Africa in the scrum as he struggled to deal with Tendai Mtawarira’s raw power.

Overall, the England and Leicester Tigers veteran had a torrid time against the Springboks, who gave him one of his toughest nights in an England shirt. Cole, 36, will need to gear up for another physical battle on Saturday evening, having been named in the starting line-up by Borthwick.

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Elliot Daly

Another player targeted by the rampant world champions, Daly was subjected to an aerial bombardment in the 2019 final. The Saracens man struggled particularly in the first half, when he failed to get hold of a bouncing ball and found himself outmuscled in the air by Makazole Mapimpi.

Although his performance four years ago was far from disastrous, he will hope to put together a far more assured display this time around, with a spot in the Rugby World Cup final at stake.

Courtney Lawes

One of the Red Rose’s most experienced players and commanding physical specimens, Lawes was penalised for failing to roll away with less than a minute on the clock during England’s last World Cup meeting with South Africa.

That set the tone poorly, and the long-serving Northampton Saints star, standing a towering 6ft 7in tall, struggled to find any momentum from there, spilling a line-out before being replaced at the interval.

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