England youngsters edge past Barbarians
Twenty-four hours after the thrilling Premiership final between Exeter and Wasps on the same ground, England’s nervous victory over the Barbarians at Twickenham was a far more dull affair.
As forgettable as it was for those in attendance, it wasn’t for England new boy Nathan Earle, who scored his first international try on his first appearance for the senior side.
Eddie Jones named eight debutants in total in an England side averaging 23 years of age and they looked every bit as raw as that suggested, with George Ford’s boot the difference between the sides for the majority of the game – as it would be, with the Barbarians refusing to kick any of their penalties.
Australia’s Adam Ashley-Cooper kept the mercurial Baa Baas within touching distance, much to the frustration of Jones, who is so used to his side blowing teams away at home.
But ultimately it was another debut to remember for Nick Isiekwe who put the game beyond reach to secure a scrappy victory.
The Baa Baas stayed true to their rugby-playing traditions from the offset, trying to run the ball at the first opportunity from their five-metre line – only to be repelled by England’s white wall.
All eyes were on Alex Goode, the Saracens full-back Jones has so strangely overlooked for England selection after questioning his credentials as a “great Test player”, who was lining up for the Barbarians.
And it was the 29-year-old who helped launch the first scintillating attack as he released Fiji winger Timoci Nagusa to turn defence into attack by dancing from behind his own try-line to England’s own 22.
The Fijian nearly gave Goode a moment to remember after only seven minutes when he barged his way towards the corner before releasing the Saracens man who couldn’t quite gather the ball to touch down.
For all their invention, ingenuity and early dominance, it was the Baa Baas who were carved open by some beautiful running rugby as Jonny May and Mike Brown combined to release Earle who exchanged passes with fellow debutant Sam James to give himself a day to remember. Ford added the extras and England were, against the run of play, ahead after 17 minutes.
Earle nearly doubled the score three minutes later but lost the ball forward at the crucial moment with Sam Underhill waiting to take advantage.
While that would have pleased Jones, the set-piece wouldn’t have. He wanted his young side to “do the simple things right”, starting with the scrum but referee Andrew Brace began getting more and more frustrated with it.
The lack of cohesion was summed up when Ford missed a fairly routine kick to extend England’s lead to 10 from in front of the posts. The co-captain for the day did rectify that mistake minutes later however and again just before half time to see the hosts jog in with a 13-0 lead.
At the start of the second half there was an eruption of cheers from the crowd as two fans got engaged at the side of the pitch to ensure it wouldn’t be a forgettable day for them either.
And there were cheers from the Baa Baas bench too as almost simultaneously Ashley Cooper raced past the proposal to score in the corner. Ireland’s Ian Madigan added the extras to leave the score at 13-7.
Ford extended the lead again with another three points from the tee but the Barbarians thought they’d taken the lead moments later, only for Jeremy Thrush’s try to be ruled out for a knock-on.
Referee Brace’s patience at the scrum wore too thin after 55 minutes and Mikheil Narisashvili was on the receiving end as the prop was sent to the bin.
Even with the man advantage, England failed to take the initiative in the 10 minutes but after Georgian came back onto the pitch, the Red Rose finally got over the line.
Isiekwe became the second debutant to score on the day after quick thinking from Danny Care caught the Barbarians defence unawares.
As the crowd broke into Mexican waves, there were two final things for them to celebrate as firstly replacement Joe Tekori scored a second try for the Baa Baas before Care found a space to restore England’s cushion to 14 points and give them a bit of momentum to take on the tour of Argentina.
England: Brown, Earle, James, Lozowski, May, Ford, Care; Genge, Singleton, Collier, Ewels, Isiekwe, Robshaw, Underhill, Beaumont.
Replacements: McGuigan, Harrison, Ford-Robinson, Spencer, Curry, Wilson, Wigglesworth, Haley.
Barbarians: Goode, Nagusa, David, Steyn, Ashley-Cooper, Madigan, Fotuali’I; Nariashvili, Hibbard, Johnston, Albacete, Thrush, Dusautoir, Armitage, Isa.
Replacements: Brits, King, Nel, Tekori, Galan, Pienaar, Fruean, Agulla.