England star Owen Farrell breaks silence after being booed by fans before Fiji Rugby World Cup win

Farrell is a controversial figure in rugby these days.

He was originally suspended for the first two matches of the Rugby World Cup, with George Ford picked in his place.

Farrell was booed by England fans prior to their victory on Sunday night before stepping up and producing the goods.

And the 32-year-old overlooked that incident after the game, instead hailing his team for the way they performed in France.

"It was what we expected," said the veteran, who has scored more points for England than any player in their entire history.

"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. We really got after it in that first half.

"We always knew Fiji were going to have some good patches and they did.

"To find a way to win and get through to the semi-finals is a big step forward, but we know we have plenty of work to do.”

Farrell scored a late drop goal and penalty to help England through after Fiji had mounted a stirring comeback.

Yet while the England star stole the show he was quick to praise the rest of his team-mates instead.

"The forwards did a great job and put it on the plate for us," he added. "I just had to knock it over.”

​Next up for England is a blockbuster showdown with South Africa on Saturday.

And Borthwick, Farrell and the rest of the figures around the team will be out for revenge given what happened four years ago.

Back in 2019, England made the final hoping to secure glory in Japan.

But South Africa beat them 32-12, with 12.8million people in Britain tuning in for the match.

South Africa were defiant against France on Sunday and won 29-28 to end the hosts' dreams of going all the way.

Borthwick, meanwhile, hailed England for silencing their critics following the win over Fiji.

“I don’t really care what other people think of us, I care about the development of the team," he said after the game.

“I thought the players were magnificent, the whole squad worked hard to get that result.

"After the performance, you have to give immense credit to Fiji they’ve had a fantastic World Cup and I’m delighted we found a way to win that game.

"For the vast majority we were in control there was a spell midway through the second half where they scored back-to-back tries and they’re the only team in the world who can do that - but I was pleased with how the players handled it thereafter.

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"A lot has been written about these players and what I see is a group who can handle and rise to these occasions.

"We’ve had great week it's been a brilliant part of the world to prepare but Paris is a bit special so we are looking forward to it.

"We don’t forget there’s a fair number of people who said we won’t make it out of group and a fair number who said we would lose tonight and we're going to be written off again I’m sure.

"But this team is determined to be successful.”