England boss Steve Borthwick comes out fighting with defiant speech after Fiji Rugby World Cup win

Tries from Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant, as well as some fine kicking from Owen Farrell, saw England win the match late on.

They'll now face South Africa in the next round in a repeat of the 2019 final, which England lost in Japan.

Few gave England a chance of making the semi-finals prior to the tournament, especially given their mixed form in warm-up matches.

And that's something Borthwick is well aware of, with the 44-year-old hailing his side for the way they performed against Fiji.

“I don’t really care what other people think of us, I care about the development of the team," he said, having originally seen his side throw away a 14-point lead.

“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.

"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.”

Borthwick also hailed England fans for the support they've given his side at the tournament so far.

"What our team did was find a way to get back onto the scoreboard and handled it in a mature smart manner," he added.

"Fiji are always capable of doing that, we saw that a few weeks ago and the England team has learned a lot.

"In that game today you saw some really good rugby form both sides, I am particularly pleased with how we closed out the game.

"What stuck out for me is the incredible support we had, a lot has been written about the support we get.

"What I see is England support right behind this team and we certainly feel that."

Farrell is a divisive character.

The England star was booed prior to the match against Fiji and started at the expense of the popular George Ford.

But Borthwick has no doubts the 32-year-old is a vital asset for his side and hailed his No 10 by saying: "He is an incredible leader and player.

"He rises to the biggest of occasions and he led the team phenomenally well today, the whole 33 were part of the preparation."

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England star Ben Earl also spoke out after the game.

And he hailed his side's performance against Fiji, insisting they deserved to progress at their opponents' expense.

“I’m just over the moon and it’s still not really sunk in," he said. I’m so proud of the boys - the staff, the whole squad.

"It looked a bit shaky at one point there didn’t it but I think the experience shone through in the end. I was pleased to contribute and I can’t wait for next week now

"We thought when we played them last time they upped us physically so defensively we had moments we didn’t like watching back but today we will be a bit happier to watch it back. That’s testament to the work we’ve been doing.”