CAN TO HELL A

Miserable Maro reflects on the cruel and bitter events of Yokohama.. but says that England rebuild if they stay strong and united

MARO ITOJE stood and stared into space, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

“Sport is cruel sometimes,” he reflected. “We just didn’t get our game going. We didn’t start with the tenacity we had planned. We are gutted. This meant a lot to a lot of people.”

Out on the main stage, Siya Kolisi was being hailed as the first black captain to lift the Webb Ellis Cup, an accolade some of us felt might go to Itoje in France next time round.

England were not the first team to beat the All Blacks in a World Cup then blow their title chance – it has happened four times in the last six tournaments.

But there was no consolation in that as South Africa celebrated and the Rugby Football

Union hastily abandoned plans for a victory parade tomorrow in London.

Itoje, one of the stars of this World Cup, added: “As you can imagine, it’s a tough time and period to go through. But if we stay together all will be well in a while.”

Ben Youngs says England are able to look themselves in the mirror because they gave everything.

“In rugby, in any sport, there is never an entitlement,” said the scrum-half as he fought to control his disappointment a week after the high of beating the All

Blacks. “Just because of what we did last week, we were never entitled to come here and do the same.

“One of the things I look at is South Africa never had to chase the game. They never allowed us to get into a position to make them.

“Against a team like that, when you are chasing for the whole game, it becomes harder and harder and eventually they get you. But we never stopped trying.”

Youngs, who was winning his 97th cap, added that sometimes in sport you just have to accept you are beaten by a team that get it so right on the night.

“I am hurting, but I am also proud because I was there in 2015 when we went out after the pool stages,” he added.

“We said in the changing room – could we have trained any harder? No. Could we have prepped any better? Genuinely not. We have done everything to try and win this. We just didn’t get it.”

England conceded five scrum penalties. A weapon became a weakness confronted by a magnificent Springbok pack.

“We weren’t there on the