Captain Farrell, head coach Borthwick & Itoje discuss England 30-24 victory over Fiji

Maro Itoje, second-row 

On the win:

"There are still things we can do better. We allowed them back into the game. In an ideal world we will try and avoid that. But we tightened things up when things needed to be tightened.

"When you’re playing a top team there is going to be a period when they get on top. The challenge is in that period is to make sure they don’t come away with too much and we allowed them to do that."

On being double-teamed in a tackle by Fiji:

"They are physical. I was probably a bit too high and if you go too high against these boys they send you backwards."

On if believed England could reach semi-final:

"I have had total belief. Sometimes it's difficult when you are not getting results and in the summer we clearly weren't getting results.

"But sometimes that kind of experience focuses the mind. It's all about us, it’s all about what we do. The mindset.”

Steve Borthwick, head coach

On the result:

"Really pleased for the players out there and the squad of 33 who have worked really hard for the result tonight. Really pleased for all of the supporters, both here in the ground tonight who I thought were incredible and the millions back home who have been watching on television.

"I think what is important at this point is to say credit to Fiji, what a fantastic team they are. A brilliant World Cup they have had. The way they played tonight, a team jam packed full of world class players. Full of pace and the way they scored those back-to-back tries, they were scored in a way not too many teams in the world 
could score like that."

On Owen Farrell:

"I reiterate the words I have said many times about the man sat next to me, I think he is a fantastic leader. He is the kind of leader I know I would want to follow onto the pitch. I think he is a brilliant player who thrives in the contest and especially in these big occasions he just gets even better. We are very fortunate to have Owen as a player in this team and as our leader. He should feel very proud of his performance and the way he led the team."

On Marcus Smith at full-back:

"I thought he played well. I thought he defended with a huge amount of courage. Not many people talk about Marcus' defence but I thought his defence was very, very good tonight."

On semi-final:

"I think many people wrote we wouldn't get out of the group, maybe some of them are here tonight. The team performed very, very well to top the group and then played well to find a way to win tonight. What we will do is recover from today's game and then we will build towards our game next Saturday."

On if there is a siege mentality around the team:

"I said the team would be ready for 9 September and they were ready for 9 September. The team has built through the tournament. This team there is a squad full of talented players who perform on the big occasion. What they did was perform on the big occasion."

On the 2007 England team as inspiration:

"Firstly I think the team has found itself in several different situations. We have tried to capture the learnings from each one of them I think the players handled each one in a smart way. Game one against Argentina, the sending off after two minutes and the way the responded. Japan playing in a completely different manner, kicked the ball every one-and-a-half rucks, never seen a Japan team play like that. Found a way through that contest.

"Jump to game four against Samoa found ourselves in a difficult situation but we had a huge Q4 to win that game. Today, for large parts we controlled the game and then had a couple of thunderbolts that hit the team in quick succession. I think you've seen in a [recent] period of time the England team weren't coming back to win that game and this team did.

"There is a smartness and composure about the team led by this man [Farrell]. I think the team is continuing to grow with. We have discussed that a lot in the week. We talked about scenarios and how you handle different situations. I think the players are drawing on all of those experiences now.

"As for comparisons with 07, I think this group is incredibly tight, they are clear on what they are trying to do and work upon. We go about our work and I think in 07, we had a bit of a reset after game two and I think in 07 the team said we will go about our work. I think that is what I see with this team, they are doing exactly that."

Owen Farrell, captain and fly-half

On the performance:

"Very pleased to find our way to win the game again. I thought the team has done an excellent job of that over the group stages and now in a big knockout game. I think the effort, as Steve said, of the full squad that has gone into this week has made it an enjoyable week and a week we have all got after together. That will continue now into next week."

On Ben Earl:

"He is obviously growing and growing as a player but it is no surprise to me. I have been his teammate for a long time now. Seeing how hungry he is and seeing how much he wants the ball and wants to get involved when the game matters, I have seen it at club [Saracens] for a while now and we are seeing it here. 

"On days like today, it probably doesn't feel right to pick out individuals as much as it's not just a team performance, it's a whole squad one but he certainly played a big part of it."

On if he would prefer France or South Africa in the semi-final:

"It's a tough question. It's not an question I can answer very well. What I can say is I am looking forward to getting back to the hotel and watching that game tonight. It should be a fantastic game."

On the end of the game:

"I thought the team was brilliant in those moments. I don't know if there are another team in the world who can score two tries like Fiji did today straight off the back of each other. We managed to wrestle our way back into the game and we got in the right parts of the field. We managed to take our chances, not just that but we backed it up with a big defensive performance on the back of that. We did that last week as well, as Steve said, this team finding ways to win. When it came down to it today we did that I am pleased with that."

On if it doesn't matter how they win:

"You want to win the game and you want to play the opportunities that present themselves. There are many different ways of doing that, there are a lot of good teams left in this competition. We have got to have a massive amount of respect for what other teams can do, that is what this stage is like. you saw from Fiji today how much power and skill they had and they could turn it on in the blink of eye.

"We had to manage that and get down the right end of the field ourselves. I am glad we were able to come away with the result."

On being underdogs in the semi-final:

"We will prepare the way we have been doing over the past five/six weeks we have been here. We will enjoy getting to a big occasion and a big week and we'll attack it."