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Kyle Sinckler 'out before he hit the ground' after being brutally KO'd just minutes into World Cup final
By Ian Cameron
England got off to a shaky start in the World Cup final they lost 32-12, an opening which was compounded by the loss of tighthead Kyle Sinckler after he was brutally knocked out.
Sinckler was KO'd out after colliding with Maro Itoje. The accidental collision came when the pair of England forwards tackled Springbok winger Makazole Mapimpi in the third minute.
Sinckler was left motionless on the ground with his arms straight in the air. The reaction, known as the 'fencing response', is often an indicator of a mid-level but not severe concussion.
Sinckler was attended to by medics and came round after two of three minutes of attention.
It was a collision that worried many on social media:
Sinckler was sent for a HIA and was automatically removed from the game. The concern for England fans then became whether Dan Cole could last 77 minutes of rugby. Cole started against USA but came off the bench in all of England's other matches - against Tonga, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
Sinckler has been one of the standout front rows at the World Cup. The 120kg tighthead credits his mother with introducing him to rugby, after he switched from football at age eight after his mother heard of his physicality on the pitch.
Sinckler was described as an ‘emotional timebomb’ by Wales coach Warren Gatland during the 2019 Six Nations. Subsequently, Sinckler conceded three penalties during England’s 21-13 defeat by Wales and was replaced in the 57th minute.
The Harlequins prop conceded the second-most penalties of any player during the 2018-19 Premiership season with 29 behind Northampton’s Alex Waller. Harlequins captain Chris Robshaw spoke to him about discipline after he received a yellow card for slapping Sale’s Faf de Klerk in the chest.
Growing up he modelled himself on former New Zealand prop Carl Hayman.
WATCH: RugbyPass hears from some rowdy fans after the final in Yokohama
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Go to commentsI'm aware. England were only able to play that way because they were dominating the gainline and getting very quick ball. We won't be allowed those liberties against better sides and of course will have to kick much more but England's approach has been far too skewed towards low risk rugby. Their kick to pass ratio per possession was double that of France and their average ruck speed almost twice as slow. However, England brutally put Wales at the Principality to the sword today and it was the first performance under Borthwick where I felt the players were truly trusted to play what was in front of them. Even against Italy with a big lead we started box kicking at 50 mins and killed all momentum. The times England have looked best - 2nd half against France, Ireland last year and today are all games where they've played with positivity and backed themselves to counter attack and play multiphase rugby. The Scotland game we barely went more than 2 phases without kicking, that is not a recipe for success. Kick a lot and get in the right areas of the field, Roebuck was excellent today on kick chase but we need to back our players to move the ball and play multiphase rugby when we get in the right areas of the field and today we took a big confident step forward.
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