WATSON’S FLYING START
His try double sets up England victory
ANTHONY WATSON scored two tries in the first 10 minutes to set up a thumping 46-15 win over Italy in England’s opening Nat West 6 Nations match here yesterday. Exeter No 8 Sam Simmonds also crossed twice on his championship debut as England began their bid to win it for the third time in a row. But their joy was dampened by a knee injury to Ben Youngs that could rule the scrum-half out of the remaining four games, starting with resurgent Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.
JAMES BOND toasted England’s players in their changing room last night after Sam Simmonds had run amok to ignite the team’s ‘three-peat’ crusade.
Actor Daniel Craig joined the celebrations following a convincing, bonus-point victory launched the holders’ NatWest 6 Nations campaign in fine style.
Eddie Jones had urged his men to make history by claiming their third successive title and this seven- try show of force gave substance to those ambitions.
It was a result which set the scene for a potentially classic England-Wales showdown at Twickenham on Saturday.
Yet for an hour, Conor O’Shea’s Italy side fought the good fight. Unlike some Azzurri teams of the past, they did not surrender. They caused some problems and scored two fine tries. But they could not withstand the relentless aggression of the English onslaught, both in open play and at the setpiece, where the England scrum was dominant.
Most of all, they could not stop Simmonds. The 23- year- old Exeter No 8 had been given the most daunting task on his championship debut — trying to fill the void left by Billy Vunipola’s injury. He is no like- for- like replacement, based on a size deficit alone, but he proved yesterday that he can be a highly effective figure at this level.
By the end, his performance figures were staggering. He was the joint-top English ball-carrier, with 14. He made 80 metres, more than any of his team- mates, including three clean breaks, and beat six defenders along the way. His 23 tackles were seven more than any other England player made. As if all that wasn’t enough, he scored two tries and set up the last one for club- mate Jack Nowell, with a no-look pass.
It was a monumental effort from a rookie who had not made his Premiership debut this time last year. The scale of the event did not faze him in the slightest.
He played with freedom and demonstrated his high- octane repertoire to wonderful effect.
While the Devonian can’t blast holes in defences with the force of his running, in the way that Billy Vunipola so often can, he instead unsettles the opposition with pace and footwork and an eye for a gap. In the 53rd minute, he burst away from a maul and scorched past the covering defenders to claim his first Test try before adding No 2 five minutes from time, when another burst of speed proved decisive.
England needed those interventions, too — just as they needed all the tackles Simmonds made while Italy were going through long spells of possession and territorial advantage. His first try effectively put the contest beyond the reach, even though they refused to go quietly when Mattia Bellini struck at the other end just before the hour.
That meant both Italian wings had crossed the line, Tommaso Benvenuti having scored midway through the first half at the end of a sweeping, brilliant raid from deep. What the two home tries exposed was England’s habit of defending aggressively but quite narrowly, which allowed the hosts to find ways around them from time to time. Better sides would have capitalised further on such space in the wider channels, and that issue is sure to be addressed in the days ahead.
Yet, it was an isolated fault in a largely compelling collective performance. While hard graft up front from the likes of Mako Vunipola, Chris Robshaw and Maro Itoje made it all possible, the other striking feature was the fluency of the creative hub in the back line, the 10-12 alliance of George Ford and Owen Farrell.
Several times in the first half, the playmakers linked with a loop move which created space wide and led to tries. Ford did for England what Johnny Sexton does so well, so often for Ireland — running behind his inside centre to take a return pass and unleash the runners further out. Jonny May and Anthony Watson took full advantage of this deadly supply line.
Watson scored twice in the right corner in the first half, with May setting him up on both occasions, after Ford and Farrell had made it all possible. There were shades of the annihilation of Scotland at Twickenham last year when the two men had pulled the strings and allowed Jonathan Joseph to wreak all manner of havoc.
Farrell even scored a try of his own after telling inputs from front- rowers Mako Vunipola, Dylan Hartley and Dan Cole. By the break, England had only a seven-point advantage, but there was always a sense that they would find another gear late on, which they duly did.
The score was 27-15 with 12 minutes remaining when Ford went over for a try which owed much to his understanding with his close friend alongside. His pass picked out Farrell at full throttle and England’s No 12 sent the ball back the other way for the fly-half to cross. That was the moment which embodied how their partnership has flourished.
Jones was buoyant after the game and his mood was entirely consistent which what had just happened. Put aside the damaging loss of Ben Youngs and this was a red-letter day for the English crusaders. Wales will come to Twickenham with momentum and belief on Saturday and the home side will be ready for them.
It promises to be epic.