JOSEPH’S PACE AND TRICKERY INSPIRE A CRUSHING VICTORY
JONATHAN JOSEPH is a gazelle among the wildebeest of modern rugby and what an exhilarating sight he was on the run with a hat-trick of tries to inspire England to one of their greatest glories at Twickenham.
England clinched the Six Nations title yesterday, they equalled New Zealand’s world record of 18 consecutive wins – and they did so with a brand of rugby to thrill the hearts of the crowd.
That was the barnstorming joy of a mighty sporting occasion when they pulverised proud, ambitious opposition, scoring their highest ever points total against Scotland.
Oh yes, they retained the Calcutta Cup as well.
Some critics had doubted the quality of this England team. Some reckoned their cascade of Test triumphs does not put them on a par with the All Blacks’ achievement.
Well, this performance surely silenced all the cynics.
This was a magnificent statement of brilliance, hunger and power by the side created by head coach Eddie Jones, the man who it seems can do no wrong.
Nothing summed it up more than the final try with the clock in overtime and Scotland already smashed. England had passed 50 points. Now they wanted 60, and they drove relentlessly until substitute scrum half Danny Care dived over for the last of seven tries.
One final match lies ahead in this Six Nations campaign, and with more targets to achieve – a back-to-back Grand Slam and that world record to themselves if they can overcome Ireland in the bedlam of Dublin next weekend. Would you bet against them? No, certainly not, if they can repeat this combination of powerhouse forward play and coruscating running from the backs. THE result here was never in doubt from the second minute of the match after a start that could not have been more dramatic.
Within two minutes Scotland hooker Fraser Brown was shown a yellow card for a tip tackle on Elliot Daly, and many thought he was fortunate. Some referees would have brandished red.
Play resumed with a line-out and England’s training ground work proved perfection as they ripped through the Scottish defence and Joseph stormed through for a superb try.
England’s dominance was total. In previous matches they had begun slowly; here the freight train was on full power from the first whistle. It was an awesome sight.
Owen Farrell kicked a couple of penalties and then another scintillating move from a line-out sent Joseph scything through the Scotland ranks with ease for a carbon copy try. Farrell’s conversion made it 20-0 after barely 25 minutes.
It took nearly half an hour for Scotland to respond. They won reward for opting against taking three points from a penalty and kicking to the corner. Prop Gordon Reid barrelled over under the posts after a surge of forward power.
England were neither deterred nor alarmed. They simply cruised into overdrive again, and another lineout delivered another stunning try. Joseph again broke the line and this time his pass sent Anthony Watson in for the touchdown. A further penalty from Farrell made the half-time score a mighty 30-7 in England’s favour.
Just after half-time Joseph romped home for his hat-trick try, collecting a pass from Ben Youngs to complete a man-of-the-match display. Farrell made it 40-7 with a penalty shortly afterwards, and the game was done.
To their credit, Scotland fashioned a couple of tries for themselves through centre Huw Jones, although it was hardly consolation for his weakness in defence against Joseph.
There was no need for England’s ‘finishers’, as Jones likes to call his replacements from the bench. They came on anyway, and the most emotional cheer was for No8 Billy Vunipola, back from injury. Within minutes he had scored a try, finishing off a driving maul from an England line-out. Where else?
The final two tries for England came from Care, with Farrell converting with aplomb. They had 61 points, the kind of total you associate with the All Blacks.
Scotland had arrived with such hope of breaking their barren runs – no Six Nations title since 1999, no Triple Crown since 1990 and no victory at Twickenham since 1983. There was no chance of that changing yesterday.
Captain John Barclay was succinct in his appraisal, saying: “We were useless.”
Perhaps. But England were simply outstanding.