England 30-24 Fiji: Steve Borthwick praises ‘written-off’ side after making World Cup semi-final

England’s reaction to pressure situations had also been called into question, but captain Owen Farrell settled any growing anxiety with a drop-goal and a late penalty to seal the victory.

“Many people wrote that we wouldn’t get out of the group,” said Borthwick. “Maybe some of them are here tonight. The team performed well to top the group and performed well to find a way to win tonight.

“I don’t really care what other people think of us. I care about the development of the team.”

Although England went into the game as favourites, Fiji only had to think back to August – when they swept Borthwick’s men aside at Twickenham in a World Cup warm-up game – to get a shot of confidence.

England’s players may have started to recall that uncomfortable game as well, as Fiji found their way back into Sunday’s contest in style and threatened a memorable comeback win.

But Borthwick was pleased with how his side handled the situation.

“What our team did was find a way to get back on to the scoreboard and handled it in a mature, smart manner,” he said.

“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 from both sides, I am particularly pleased with how we closed out the game.

“The team has built through the tournament. There is a squad full of talented players who perform on the big occasion. What they did was perform on the big occasion.”