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England’s latest “new era” got off to a spectacular start on Sunday (AEDT) as they ran in 11 tries to crush an outclassed Tonga 69-3 in their first game in front of a Twickenham full house since March 2020.
Jamie George, Jonny May and Ben Youngs each scored twice while Adam Radwan, Maro Itoje, Marcus Smith, Jamie Blamire and debutant Alex Mitchell also crossed as Tonga, hit by yellow and red cards, eventually collapsed.
After the turgid, kick-dominated displays of the last 12 months, coach Eddie Jones had promised a more adventurous England and, even taking into account the less-than-challenging opposition, there certainly seemed to be a willingness to play with the ball.
Jones said: “We saw the mindset of being aggressive in attacking the opportunities. The mechanics will be the fine tuning – and we don’t need to see the end of that until the seventh game of the World Cup.
“We were prepared to put in the effort when it probably wasn’t needed, which is good. In the second half the result wasn’t in the mix so you have to dig deep in yourself to find something and I think we went harder in the second half than the first.”
(Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)
The absence of Owen Farrell after a positive COVID test proved somewhat fortuitous as George Furbank, long touted as a potential international flyhalf by Jones, stepped in for his first international start there and enjoyed pulling the strings and throwing in some of the breaks that have made him such a dangerous fullback.
He then made way for Smith to deliver a sparkling 30-minute cameo as the Twickenham fans got a good glimpse of what they hope will be the man to drive the team all the way to the next World Cup.
“They went really well – it was a difficult game for those two guys after the bulk of the training had been done by Owen but they acquitted themselves well and we’re really pleased with their progress,” Jones said
Jones will have been just as delighted by the stellar displays of some of his stalwarts, not least Courtney Lawes, who was hugely authoritative, befitting his role as captain for the day, the returning Manu Tuilagi, at his bullocking best after another long injury absence, and evergreen scrumhalf Youngs on his 110th appearance.
Tonga replacement Viliami Fine was red carded 12 minutes from time for a wild shoulder into the face of a prone Smith.
England will face a far stiffer task next week against Australia, albeit seeking an eighth successive win against them, and Lawes, likely to remain as captain as Farrell serves his time in isolation, was already excited about it.
“It is going to be a great game,” he said. “I believe we can go toe to toe with anyone, we have a bit to learn but I am looking forward very much to next week.”
Farrell, though, could be available to face the Wallabies next Sunday as England believe it may have been a false positive COVID-19 test that ruled him out of the match with Tonga.
Under Government guidelines, the England captain must quarantine for 10 days but Eddie Jones insists discussions with Public Health England are ongoing after wing Jonny May suggested the case is a false-positive.
Farrell’s withdrawal was announced only 90 minutes before kick-off and Jones refused to rule him out when the Wallabies arrive next weekend.
“It’s very clear and very simple. We are just following the COVID regulations and protocols and are awaiting further guidance,” Jones said.
“It is not my decision, it is Public Health’s, so we leave it to them and we are just waiting. We have done everything we are supposed to do.
“We knew 100 per cent he wasn’t going to be involved this (Saturday) morning and in terms of when he’s going to get out, if you could give a ring to Public Health England that would be most appreciated.”
May grabbed two tries against the outgunned Tongans but admitted he woke up fearing the match would be called off if additional PCR testing revealed a more extensive outbreak.
“It was stressful. It’s hard enough preparing for a Test match without all of that,” May said.
“On Thursday morning we have got a positive in the camp, we are about to train and we have all got to go back to our rooms and all have to PCR and lateral flow and we are not sure if we are going to train.
“In 20 minutes the message comes out we have got to race down and get training, all PCR, everybody is nervous…what if a positive comes back? Are we going to get a game in?
“Then Owen has obviously got a positive test back, it looks by all accounts to be a false positive and that is a different discussion.
“I was worried about coming down to breakfast this morning and the game not being on if we had had a few more positives. To perform under those conditions and distractions is credit to the team.
“It didn’t knock us off our stride but it was a distraction that we dealt with well. It was challenging.”
The void created at fly-half by Farrell’s absence was initially filled by George Furbank, who showed some neat touches despite playing the majority of his rugby at full-back.
And Smith picked up the baton when he replaced Furbank in the third quarter, celebrating his third cap by scoring a try and setting up two more in a high-octane cameo.
In Cardiff, South Africa mauled their way over for a late try to snatch a narrow 23-18 victory over Wales at a rain-soaked Principality Stadium.
Malcolm Marx scored the only try of the match with seven minutes remaining as the World Cup holders came from behind to take the lead for the first time in the Test and win in Cardiff for the first time since 2013.
They were 18-15 behind after the two teams had traded penalties throughout a bruising contest with Dan Biggar kicking six out of six for his side.
Handre Pollard put over four penalties for South Africa, with a long range contribution from his own half by Frans Steyn and an additional three points on the final whistle for Elton Jantjies.
© AAP
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