Ford drives England to Baabaas win

– George Ford contributed 13 points as England warmed up for their two-Test tour of Argentina with a hard-fought 28-14 victory over the Barbarians in a non-cap match at Twickenham yesterday.

However, while the crowd were entertained with five tries in the game England head coach Eddie Jones (above) will be more concerned by the fitness of Alex Lozowski and Sam Underhill, who both went off with what appeared to be shoulder injuries in the firsthalf.

England – missing several key players who are preparing for the daunting tour of New Zealand with the British and Irish Lions – snaffled three of the quintet of tries.

Two of them came from European champions Saracens duo Nathan Earle and Nick Isiekwe whilst experienced scrumhalf Danny Care got the other one.

Both the Barbarians tries came in the second-half as they stirred themselves, against an England side with eight new faces in the starting line-up, having gone in 13-0 down at the break.

Australian great Adam Ashley-Cooper nabbed one of them with lock Joe Tekori scoring the other – Ireland flyhalf and former Bordeaux-Begles team-mate of Ashley-Cooper’s Ian Madigan converting both.

Things might have been even tighter had the referee not ruled out New Zealander Jremey Thrush’s 50th-minute touchdown and sin-binned Baabaas prop Mikheil Nariashvili for a scrummaging infringement in the 55th minute. – AFP