Maro Itoje has praised Tom Curry’s courage in making his allegation of racist abuse against Mbongeni Mbonambi as England attacked World Rugby for failing to allow the “victim to have his voice heard”.

Curry claimed to referee Ben O’Keeffe in the first half of Saturday’s World Cup semi-final defeat by South Africa that he had been called a “white c***” by Springboks hooker Mbonambi.

The Rugby Football Union subsequently disclosed to the inquiry that Curry “had also been the victim of the same abuse, from the same player” when the rivals clashed at Twickenham in November.

A statement released by SA Rugby on Friday afternoon revealed that Mbonambi “denied the allegations from the outset” – the first time his innocence had been voiced in public – and World Rugby has closed its investigation into both claims due to insufficient evidence.

With the matter unresolved, a cloud hangs over each player heading into the final weekend of the World Cup and England head coach Steve Borthwick has joined the RFU in condemning the outcome of the inquiry.

The focus of their anger is that the case will not be heard by an independent disciplinary hearing.

“The RFU expressed great disappointment at World Rugby’s decision and that bitter disappointment is shared by Tom, his teammates, the management and everyone associated with this team,” Borthwick said.

“Let’s be clear – Tom Curry has done nothing wrong. Somebody has said something to Tom Curry, Tom’s reported it.

“By making this decision World Rugby has denied the victim of the situation – Tom Curry – to have his voice heard. That’s where the disappointment really comes in.”

The saga has overshadowed the build-up to Friday’s bronze final between England and Argentina and the final between New Zealand and South Africa 24 hours later.

Curry will win his 50th cap when he lines up against the Pumas, despite being subjected to extensive online abuse since his allegation against Mbonambi was picked up by the ref mic during the 16-15 defeat by the world champions.

Itoje revealed that England have rallied around the Sale flanker, who has been thrust into the eye of the storm.

“Tom is the innocent party in this respect – as Steve said he has done nothing wrong and he is the victim of the situation. For him to have this abuse is disgraceful,” Itoje said.

“Tom has been tremendous. He’s been courageous to do what he’s done in the manner he’s done it, through proper channels, conducting himself in the manner he should be proud of.

“Definitely as teammates, we are proud of him. To do that isn’t easy. To make a statement like that isn’t easy. To call out stuff like that isn’t easy.

“As you’ve seen this week, when you do something courageous like that, you put yourself out there. He’s been absolutely fantastic in that regard.

“In terms of how we’ve tried to support him, we’ve just tried to be there for him in any way he needs. If he needs to talk about anything, we are always there for him.

“But he’s a strong man, he has a strong personality, a strong will, and he’s been great throughout the week.”

Mbonambi starts the World Cup final against New Zealand after being picked in the front row as the only established hooker in South Africa’s squad.

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi revealed that he has been in contact with Curry to show his support in response to the online witch-hunt to which the Sale flanker has been subjected.

“I have spoken to him, I sent him a message. He is someone I respect,” Kolisi said.

“We can take it as players, when it comes to you it’s fine, but when families are involved it’s different. I have let him know we are supporting him, we are thinking of him.”

Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard have been named in South Africa’s starting line-up for Sunday’s World Cup final against New Zealand in Paris.

The return of half-backs De Klerk and Pollard are Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber’s only two changes from the side which started in last week’s 16-15 semi-final win against England.

Former Sale scrum-half De Klerk, 32, now playing in Japan with Yokohama Canon Eagles, and Leicester fly-half Pollard, 29, are among 10 starting players who began the 2019 final against England.

Nienaber told South Africa Rugby’s official website: “This is an experienced team with several players who played in the last Rugby World Cup final and who know exactly what to expect at Stade de France on Saturday and what it will take to retain the title.

“The players who will be playing in their first World Cup final have also proven their worth as warriors throughout this campaign and they are all ready for this massive occasion.

“We know we are in for a colossal battle. Every point and inch will count in this match and we know it will take another top-class effort to come out on top on Saturday.”

De Klerk and Pollard will become the most experienced half-backs in Springbok history, partnering each other for the 25th time and surpassing Joost van der Westhuizen and Henry Honiball.

Nienaber has included 15 players in his squad who appeared in the Springboks’ record 35-7 win against New Zealand at Twickenham in August.

Second row Franco Mostert and prop Steven Kitshoff are the only two forwards named in the starting line-up who did not start in the 2019 final, with both featuring off the bench.

Ben Youngs will bring down the curtain on his England career in Friday’s World Cup bronze final against Argentina at Stade de France.

The nation’s most-capped men’s player with 126 Test appearances makes his first start of the tournament but also his final Red Rose outing, having launched his international odyssey against Scotland 13 years ago.

Steve Borthwick has saluted a scrum-half master who has been first choice for most of his career until slipping down the pecking order at this World Cup due to the emergence of Alex Mitchell.

“Ben has been a tremendous player for English rugby for such a long time. He’s a brilliant player and a fantastic team man,” Borthwick said.

“He’s our record cap holder, a player who has seen a lot in four World Cups and who has played an important role within this squad helping the team progress, particularly Alex Mitchell.”

Tom Curry locks horns with Argentina despite receiving online abuse in response to the allegation that he was the victim of a racist slur against South Africa.

Curry claimed that hooker Bongi Mbonambi called him a “white c***” in Saturday’s 16-15 semi-final defeat at the Stade de France, prompting World Rugby to launch an investigation that is ongoing.

The Sale flanker continues in the back row despite being in the eye of the storm, however, and will win his 50th cap in a rematch of the pool victory over the Pumas.

Owen Farrell leads a team showing eight changes in personnel and two positional switches, one of them Curry’s move to blindside flanker to accommodate Sam Underhill’s first appearance of the World Cup in the number seven jersey.

Marcus Smith is restored at full-back after passing the HIA that forced him to sit out the South Africa showdown and the knock-on effect is that Freddie Steward moves to the right wing.

Henry Arundell returns for the first time since running in five tries against Chile in the third Pool D match, providing firepower on the left wing, while the centre partnership of Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant remains intact.

Head coach Borthwick fields an entirely new front row made up of Ellis Genge, Theo Dan and Will Stuart, with tighthead prop Dan Cole poised to make potentially his final England appearance off the bench.

Ollie Chessum returns in the second row, but there is no place in the 23 for George Martin, one of the heroes of the defeat by the Springboks.

“After the disappointment of last weekend’s game against South Africa, it is important that this Friday we once again play with the determination and dedication that so nearly earned the team the result we wanted,” Borthwick said.

“The bronze final gives us a great opportunity to finish the tournament on a positive note, continue to build for the future, and to give our supporters one last chance to get behind the squad out here in Paris.”

Owen Farrell has condemned the online vilification of Tom Curry after the England flanker alleged he was racially abused in Saturday’s World Cup semi-final defeat by South Africa.

England are furious that Curry has been targeted online for claiming to referee Ben O’Keeffe that he had been called a “white c***” by Springboks hooker Bongi Mbonambi.

World Rugby is examining audio and video footage from the Stade de France clash as part of its investigation into the incident which is still ongoing, but in the meantime Curry has been the victim of a social media pile-on described by his club Sale as “disgusting”.

A visibly angry Farrell on Wednesday defended his team-mate, who wins his 50th cap in Friday’s bronze final against Argentina.

“Tom has been first class this week, like he always is. He’s one of the most honest, most hard working blokes I’ve ever played with,” England captain Farrell said.

“What isn’t understandable is the amount of abuse he’s got. The effect that has on him is the bit that I, and we, really don’t understand.

“And I know it seems to be going more and more like this, but it shouldn’t be, it shouldn’t be.

“You are dealing with people, with human beings. Just because you’re saying stuff on your phone or behind a computer screen doesn’t make it acceptable. I don’t think it’s acceptable.

“This doesn’t make me look fondly at engaging with people outside of the people that are close to you.”

Head coach Steve Borthwick has made it clear that Curry has been unjustly thrust into the eye of the storm in a doubling down of England’s claim that the Sale forward was racially abused by Mbonambi.

“This is not a Tom Curry incident. Somebody said something in a game that he has reported,” Borthwick said.

“Now this is a World Rugby and SA Rugby matter to deal with, not an England rugby nor a Tom Curry matter.”

Curry continues in the back row, although he shifts from openside to blindside flanker as one of 10 changes – eight in personnel – made to the side to face Argentina.

Borthwick insists he had no hesitation in standing Curry down for the rematch of the Pool D opener which England won despite having the 25-year-old sent off in the third minute for a dangerous tackle.

“The way Tom play means he has more involvements than any other player on the pitch. And they are physically powerful involvements,” Borthwick said.

“When he came off the pitch against South Africa he was cut and bloodied and that’s exactly how Tom Curry plays.

“I chatted to him early in the week about how he was physically with another six-day turnaround and he looked straight at me and point blank said: ‘I am desperate to play on Friday night’.

“This guy wants to play. There is no doubt in my mind he wants to be out there and the way he has prepared through the week has been incredible.

“But that’s Tom Curry. It’s the way he does it every single week so I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

With no indication of when World Rugby’s inquiry will conclude, Mbonambi will take part in Saturday’s World Cup final against New Zealand with a cloud hanging over him.

He has completed the last two matches – fierce battles against France and England – and given the lack of front line hooker cover, is set to play another 80 minutes against the All Blacks.

South Africa assistant coach Felix Jones said: “Bongi has come through both of those games fine. Any player who is getting ready to play in a World Cup final won’t moan about how many minutes they’ve had. They’ll be ready to go.”

Tom Curry starts England’s World Cup bronze final against Argentina despite receiving online abuse in response to the allegation that he was the victim of a racist slur against South Africa.

Curry claimed that hooker Bongi Mbonambi called him a “white c***” in Saturday’s 16-15 semi-final defeat at the Stade de France, prompting World Rugby to launch an investigation that is ongoing.

The Sale flanker continues in the back row despite being in the eye of the storm, however, and will win his 50th cap in a rematch of the pool victory over the Pumas.

Owen Farrell leads a team showing eight changes in personnel and two positional switches, one of them Curry’s move to blindside flanker to accommodate Sam Underhill’s first appearance of the World Cup in the number seven jersey.

Marcus Smith is restored at full-back after passing the HIA that forced him to sit out the South Africa showdown and the knock-on effect is that Freddie Steward moves to the right wing.

Leigh Halfpenny has announced he is to retire from international duty with Wales following the team’s exit from the Rugby World Cup.

Wales were knocked out by Argentina at the quarter-final stage, with the Pumas clash in Marseille the 34-year-old’s final game for his country.

He retires having won 101 caps, and with 801 points scored he is third in the all-time Welsh list behind Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones.

World Rugby has opened an investigation into the alleged racist slur directed at England flanker Tom Curry by South Africa hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi in Saturday’s World Cup semi-final.

Curry claimed to referee Ben O’Keeffe in the second quarter of the Stade de France clash that he had been called a “white c***” by Mbonambi.

“World Rugby takes all allegations of discriminatory behaviour extremely seriously,” a statement read.

“We can confirm that we are formally reviewing the allegation made by England’s Tom Curry in relation to the use of discriminatory language during the England versus South Africa Rugby World Cup 2023 semi-final on Saturday.

“World Rugby will not be making further comment until the conclusion of the process.”

Danny Care hopes a heartbreaking defeat by South Africa in Saturday’s World Cup semi-final has won over any England fans who had grown disillusioned with the team.

England went out on their shields after the Springboks needed a last-gasp penalty from Handre Pollard to snatch victory having trailed for 75 minute of a thunderous showdown at the Stade de France.

As Owen Farrell orchestrated a wet weather masterclass that rattled the world champions, the discontent generated by poor recent Six Nations campaigns, the Eddie Jones era limping on for too long and August’s alarming collapse in form faded away.

And although the distant outsiders were unable to complete their unlikely mission of securing a place in next Saturday’s final against New Zealand, head coach Steve Borthwick should begin rebuilding his side amid a groundswell of support.

Booing is a sound heard frequently at England games in recent times, particularly at Twickenham, but Care views the progress made in France under Borthwick’s guidance as a cause to rally around.

“There was a lot of stuff said about us before and hopefully we’ve changed some perceptions, maybe got people believing in us again,” the Harlequins scrum-half said.

“Before the tournament, we understand that because of our performances people were doubting us a little bit. But then things clicked into gear a bit when we got over to France.

“We’ve shown stuff that fans can hopefully get behind and be proud of. The support we’ve had over here and back home has been amazing. This team will go on to bigger and better things, I’m sure of it.”

England led by nine points until RG Snyman went over in the 70th minute, but the tide had already begun turning as South Africa’s ‘Bomb Squad’ forced four scrum penalties.

“It was tough in that changing room. Unfortunately great effort doesn’t get you over the line sometimes,” said the 36-year-old Care, who revealed he will remain available for Test selection after the World Cup.

“I was sat in the bath with Maro Itoje and we were saying how sport can be cruel. It’s why we love it so much, it’s on a knife edge so often. There’s one happy changing room, one sad one.

“For me personally, when time is running out on your international career it’s tough to take, but I’m incredibly proud to be part of this team.”

England have one final assignment before departing France in the shape of Friday’s bronze final, customarily an unloved fixture in the World Cup schedule. But Care insists third place is a prize worth winning.

“We’d love to have been in the big dance but we’re not. The next best thing you can do is to finish third and try to make more people back home proud of this England team,” Care said.

“We’ll dust ourselves off pretty quick. Losing to South Africa is going to be harsh and tough to take for a couple of days but that’s sport – you’ve got to bounce back.”

South Africa have begun investigating an alleged racist slur directed at England flanker Tom Curry by their hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi.

England have until Monday morning to lodge a complaint with the citing officer after Curry claimed he had been the victim of a discriminatory remark in Saturday’s 16-15 World Cup semi-final defeat by the Springboks.

Curry drew the incident to the attention of referee Ben O’Keeffe in the second quarter of the match at the Stade de France.

Although the alleged slur is not audible on the ref mic, Curry’s subsequent conversation with O’Keeffe is.

“Sir, if their hooker calls me a white c*** what do I do?” the Sale flanker said.

O’Keeffe replied: “Nothing, please. I’ll be on it.”

South Africa on Sunday responded by confirming they are looking into the incident.

“We are aware of the allegation, which we take very seriously, and are reviewing the available evidence. We will engage with Bongi if anything is found to substantiate the claim,” an SA Rugby statement read.

When asked after the match if Mbonambi had said something he should not have done, Curry replied “yeah”, although he declined to reveal the content of the remark.

Mbonambi, who took over as captain once Siya Kolisi had been replaced, refused to shake Curry’s hand at the end of a dramatic clash in Paris that was won by Handre Pollard’s penalty after 78 minutes.

World Rugby confirmed there is a 36-hour window from when the game ends for England to lodge a complaint to the citing officer, giving them until 10am BST on Monday to act.

The sport’s global governing body can also choose to pursue the matter, with any case likely to be brought under the ‘bringing the game into disrepute’ banner.

Also, if the citing officer finds any evidence of the alleged racist remark, disciplinary proceedings can be triggered against Mbonambi, with an offence such as this likely to contravene law 9.12 – a player must not verbally abuse anyone.

England led for all but five minutes of the semi-final and were nine points ahead until RG Snyman went over in the 70th minute at a time when the Springboks’ scrum was taking control through the introduction of the ‘Bomb Squad’.

Jonny May said England’s heroic effort against the world champions was fuelled by the belief that they had been dismissed as a serious threat by South Africa.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t think necessarily the South Africans respect us,” May said.

“Some of the things their coach has openly said about us in their documentaries and stuff probably just adds fuel to the fire.

“We touched on their documentary and we’ve got staff who were with them and they gave us insight of how they feel about us.”

England have until Monday morning to lodge a complaint after Tom Curry alleged he was the victim of a racist slur in Saturday’s 16-15 World Cup semi-final defeat by South Africa.

Curry drew the incident involving hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi to the attention of referee Ben O’Keeffe around the half-hour mark of the match at the Stade de France.

Although the alleged slur is not audible on the ref link, Curry’s subsequent conversation with O’Keeffe is.

“Sir, if their hooker calls me a white c***, what do I do?” the Sale flanker said.

O’Keeffe replied: “Nothing, please. I’ll be on it.”

When asked after the match if Mbonambi had said something he shouldn’t have done, Curry replied “yeah”, although he declined to reveal what was said.

Mbonambi refused to shake Curry’s hand at the end of a dramatic clash in Paris that was won by Handre Pollard’s penalty after 78 minutes.

The PA news agency has contacted World Rugby and the South Africa Rugby Union for comment.

Steve Borthwick vowed to use England’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final exit at the hands of South Africa to sow a seed for future success.

Borthwick’s unfancied side led by nine points in the final quarter and were on the cusp of a famous win until Handre Pollard’s late penalty condemned them to an agonising 16-15 defeat.

Many of England’s players collapsed to their knees following a colossal, but ultimately unsuccessful, effort against the reigning champions on a sodden evening in Paris.

While head coach Borthwick was similarly crestfallen by the dramatic late twist at Stade de France, he was proud of the efforts of his team and upbeat about what lies ahead.

“We came here with a plan to win the game and we fell a little bit short, not far short but a little bit short, so we’re desperately disappointed,” he said.

“I think we all truly believed we could do it, we were going to do it, and we came very close to doing so.

“In adversity, in these tough times, there’s usually some seed of it there that will grow and be something brilliant in the future.

“Right now it’s too early for me to find that seed but we’ll make sure we find it.

“We’ll make sure that we take some of what we find tonight, some of what we’ve gone through tonight, we’ll make sure we grab that and we’ll make sure it makes us stronger in the future.”

Captain Owen Farrell produced an outstanding performance, kicking all of his side’s points, including a superb drop goal.

His efforts looked to be sufficient for victory but RG Snyman barged over for the only try of the match in the 70th minute to set up a grandstand finish.

Man-of-the-match Pollard, who booted the Springboks to victory over England in the 2019 final, nailed the tricky conversion and then landed a monster penalty two minutes from time to inflict more anguish on the opposition.

“The players should be incredibly proud of what they’ve done and continue to do as they represent England rugby,” continued Borthwick.

“I know I’ll have at home a couple of young boys who are going to be bitterly disappointed and I’m sure there are lots of people that are proud but also gutted back in England, I’m sure there are millions of people like that.

“I care about these players, I care about these supporters, and I care about English rugby.

“What I see is a group of guys who are doing as much as they possibly can to set an example, to build a team, to have supporters proud of them.

“They’re led by this man next to me (Farrell), who I think has been and continues to be a phenomenal player and an incredible leader of this team.”

New Zealand await South Africa in next weekend’s final.

Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber praised his team’s fighting spirit.

“I pay a lot of credit to England,” he said. “They were outstanding on the night.

“They had a very good tactical plan and they put us under pressure. We will have to improve because it took us some time to get to grips with it.

“But the strength of this team is that even if we’re not playing well we find a way to get the result.

“It took 80 minutes to get a foothold in the game. The team refused to give up and fought until the end.”

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi was convinced fly-half Pollard, who came on for Manie Libbok with only half an hour gone, would land the decisive penalty from just inside England’s half.

“I had no doubt at all,” he said. “He’s done it for us before.

“England are a world-class team and completely different to a year ago. They had an amazing game plan which we took too long to adapt to.

“These things happen but we dug deep to get the victory. Other teams wouldn’t be able to get the win from this. I’m not going to say it was ugly, we did what was needed.”

England collapsed to an agonising 16-15 defeat against South Africa at the Stade de France as they allowed a place in Saturday’s World Cup final against New Zealand to slip from their grasp.

Steve Borthwick’s men led by nine points in the final quarter but their wet-weather masterclass began to fade as the ‘Bomb Squad’ made their presence felt for the Springboks, especially in the scrum.

It was on the back of their set-piece ascendancy and the generalship of replacement fly-half Handre Pollard that the tables turned in a sodden Paris.

RG Snyman barged over for the only try of the match in the 70th minute and Pollard nailed a tricky conversion, setting up heart-stopping finish to a Test that was enthralling throughout.

The world champions were still two points behind but up stepped man-of-the-match Pollard to land the killer blow with two minutes left, nailing a penalty from just inside England’s half.

England’s players sank to their knees at the final whistle, their hearts broken having given their all in a rematch of the 2019 final despite being distant outsiders, and it was an especially cruel moment for Owen Farrell given his outstanding night.

Farrell was at the heart of many of his side’s best moments and although the captain drew the now customary boos when his name was read out on the PA system pre-match, he replied by drawing first blood with a penalty.

Breakdown and line-out success, as well as Ben Earl blasting off the base of the scrum, were further early wins until a promising drive downfield ended with Farrell kicking his second penalty.

Three times in a row England turned over South African line-out drives, winning a penalty on the third of them to relieve the pressure that was building on their line.

Every aspect of an arm wrestle of a contest was being won by England, but they were also their own worst enemies as they gave away three needless penalties, one of them for a moment of petulance from Farrell that allowed Manie Libbok to land three points.

His eyes bulging, Farrell was playing on the edge and had to be escorted away from referee Ben O’Keeffe, but he regained his composure to re-establish the six-point lead.

Libbok became the fall guy for South Africa’s woes when he was replaced in the 32nd minute by Pollard in the hope the 2019 World Cup winner would bring greater control.

Pollard’s first involvement was to boot a penalty and growing tension was evident as errors crept into both sides, but when Farrell found the target for the fourth time, England entered the break with a deserved 12-6 lead.

Rookie Leicester lock George Martin had been at the forefront of red rose resistance through his savage tackling and as the rain continued to fall there was no prospect of the game opening up.

Scrum-half Cobus Reinach and full-back Damian Willemse were the next to be pulled by South Africa, who now had Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux on the field, and then Eben Etzebeth followed them into the dugout.

The changes were a reflection of England’s control and just as the Springboks appeared to be clawing their way into contention, Farrell rifled over a sensational drop-goal.

England’s captain was striking gold with every touch as a wicked crossfield grubber caused Kurt-Lee Arendse to fumble, but South Africa were beginning to harvest penalties at the scrum.

Suddenly the Springboks went up a gear, their pack pouring forwards from a line-out for Snyman to score.

It was now all South Africa, who had discovered a new lease of life, and when the moment for glory came, Pollard stepped up to deliver his monster penalty.

Will Jordan would happily sacrifice his place in the history books if it means New Zealand lift the World Cup for an unprecedented fourth time.

Jordan claimed a hat-trick of tries in Friday’s 44-6 semi-final rampage against Argentina in Paris, making him the deadliest finisher at France 2023 on eight touch downs.

It also placed him in the company of all time-greats Jonah Lomu, Bryan Habana and Julian Savea, who jointly hold the record for highest number of tries scored at a single World Cup.

The 25-year-old has Saturday’s final against either England or South Africa to rise above that exalted trio, but he insists chasing individual glory is a peripheral concern.

“The World Cup win is what we all came over here to do. I will be perfectly happy to take a zero on the scoresheet if it means we get the job done,” Jordan said.

“It’s a team game and the group is really focused at the moment around what we want to do. Hopefully I can play my part in that.

“It is pretty humbling to be included alongside those guys. They were all huge legends of the game and, particularly in the position I play, really trail-blazed the way to play the game as a winger. So that’s pretty cool.

“It definitely wasn’t anything I set out to do or anything like that, but it’s nice to be able to do that in amongst the team going so well.”

It was almost the perfect night for New Zealand at the Stade de France as they swatted aside Argentina as if it was an exhibition match, rested legs by emptying the entire bench and finished without any cards or suspensions.

The Pumas, meanwhile, will play in the bronze final on Friday with assistant coach Juan Fernandez Lobbe adamant that it is a game with meaning.

“The disappointment is very, very big. We came to want to play in the final and we couldn’t,” former Argentina forward Lobbe said.

“The team is very clear – and they made it clear after the semi-final – that finishing with a medal is important.

“I finished in third place in 2007 and fourth in 2015 and they are not the same. So it’s a very important game.

“It means going on Friday with total determination, with our way, our weapons. It would be a very good closing of the World Cup for us.”

New Zealand boss Ian Foster plans to enjoy a bowl of popcorn while watching England’s blockbuster with South Africa after his side eased into the Rugby World Cup final by dispatching Argentina.

Foster can put his feet up for Saturday evening’s colossal semi-final clash between Steve Borthwick’s men and the Springboks thanks to a crushing 44-6 success over Los Pumas in Paris.

The 58-year-old expects an “interesting contrast of styles” in the other last-four fixture and is not bothered who the All Blacks face in next week’s showpiece match at Stade de France.

New Zealand barely broke sweat in booking an unprecedented fifth World Cup final appearance and now have the luxury of an extra day’s rest as they await the identity of their ultimate opponents.

“I’ll be watching it,” said Foster. “I’ll probably have some popcorn and sit there and watch it and I don’t care who wins. We’re very much in a focus-about-ourselves stage.

“One thing that extra day does give us, it gives us a bit of a chance to have a break mentally and not to spend too much juice worrying about if it’s them, if it’s them.

“They’re both good teams. South Africa have been playing some brilliant rugby the last few weeks and are clearly on top of their game.

“But we’ve also seen an English side that just build away quietly and are probably starting to understand how they want to play and they’re starting to get really good at how they want to play and believe in that.

“It will be an interesting contrast of styles.”

All Blacks wing Will Jordan ran in a hat-trick during the seven-try rout in Saint-Denis to lift him above France’s Damian Penaud as the World Cup’s leading try scorer on eight.

The treble also saw the 25-year-old equal the record for tries in a single tournament, putting him alongside Jonah Lomu, Bryan Habana and Julian Savea.

Foster was able to empty his bench long before the full-time whistle due to the emphatic scoreline and opted to keep the sin-binned Scott Barrett on the sidelines for around five minutes longer than required as the Kiwis finished with 14 men.

Asked if those situations could prove advantageous moving towards the final, Foster said: “I don’t think they’ll make a massive difference.

“Finals are finals and whoever we play, they’ll be a hundred per cent.

“It was an opportunity for us to make sure that we looked after our resources as best we could.

“We really didn’t see a need of putting Scooter (Barrett) back on, only from the perspective that if he had another little yellow card incident in the next five minutes, it might have made it a little bit niggly.”

Argentina were a shadow of the side who stunned Wales in the last eight.

A pair of first-half Emiliano Boffelli penalties was all they could muster.

Shannon Frizell’s double, plus further tries from Jordie Barrett and Aaron Smith, added to their punishment.

Los Pumas head coach Michael Cheika felt New Zealand ruthlessly exploited each of his team’s errors and was unhappy with some of the refereeing, particularly during first-half rucks.

The Australian promised his players will respond to a difficult outing in the bronze-medal match.

“It’s not a sad moment; it’s a moment when I’m actually proud of my team,” he said.

“It’s not an easy path that we’ve been on. We’ve invested ourselves a lot in this. But we’ve lost on details. I’m sad for them.

“It’s hard but its a good thing it’s hard. On Friday, we will be there, have no doubt. We will not leave this way.

“We want to finish third. We’ve got things we want to show in the bronze final. Right now, we’re hurting.”

England are ready for scheming from South Africa at the Stade de France on Saturday but believe the World Cup will be decided in other areas.

Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus is accomplished at what Warren Gatland describes as “dark arts”, such as using mind games to give his side an edge, especially through the use of social media to “control the agenda”.

The most recent example is the suggestion that the Springboks used HIAs in their quarter-final victory over France last Sunday to give forwards Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Bongi Mbonambi a rest – a claim denied by Erasmus.

Attack coach Richard Wigglesworth insists England know they will be targeted in the last-four showdown in Paris and even believes that their media output is being monitored closely.

“I’m sure that, with the smarts of their coaching team, they will try to throw stuff at us, no doubt. Will that be the winning and losing of this game? Probably not,” Wigglesworth said.

“It will probably be the big bits of the game that decides that and then they’ll give those little nuances a chance.

“I wouldn’t like to guess what they are going to try and do because I know they will watch and hear everything we say. I wouldn’t like to try and give anyone a head start.”

South Africa are aiming to win their fourth World Cup and enter the second semi-final as overwhelming favourites, while few people are giving England a chance.

“If there is pressure on South Africa, then they’ve shown they can deal with it,” Wigglesworth said.

“They dealt with it at the last World Cup and dealt with it in numerous games. It’s not something that we’ve been clinging on to.

“I’m super-impressed with them as an outfit. They’ve evolved a little bit but without changing their DNA, which we know is incredibly physical with a good kicking game on the back of a rush defence.

“That’s stuff that we’re going to have to deal with, but we also need to make sure that we’re giving them some food for thought.”