Rugby union: England blow Ireland away
“England have finally exploded,” said Stephen Jones in The Sunday Times. On Saturday, in the third of their World Cup warm-ups, they savaged Ireland: they scored eight tries in their 57-15 win, a record margin of victory against the Irish. At Twickenham, the two sides were simply “worlds apart”, said Ian McGeechan in The Sunday Telegraph. This was Ireland’s least effective performance in years, while England have rarely looked better: their accuracy, balance and variety were all “outstanding”.
“This was a performance that will send shivers through other contenders,” said Mick Cleary in the same paper. It confirmed that England have “the muscular heft to test any other opponent” – particularly with Maro Itoje, their lock, in such “towering” form. There was more than just “heavy artillery”, though: George Ford and Owen Farrell, their dual playmakers, offered craft; Elliot Daly showed off his speed. But the real revelation was Manu Tuilagi, said Gerard Meagher in The Observer. For much of the last five years, when he was laid low by one injury after another, “a performance such as this seemed beyond the realms of possibility”. But on Saturday, playing at outside centre, Tuilagi “typified England’s intensity”. He set up Daly’s try and scored one of his own, “bursting through a gap” with blistering acceleration. In the first half alone he beat seven defenders. And he played a crucial role in Joe Cokanasiga’s second try, running a perfect decoy line. “He does not even have to touch the ball to leave his imprint.” Since Eddie Jones was appointed head coach, almost four years ago, he has faced questions about his best XV, said Stuart Barnes in The Times. But it should be clear by now that no such thing exists. Roughly half the team on Saturday will be certainties for the big games at the World Cup; otherwise, expect a “revolving platform of players”. It’s less a question of who is best, than who is best suited to each challenge: “some players can do more for the cause in 20 minutes than 60; some can structure a game, others chase it and change the pace.” For now, England’s greatest threat is complacency, said Robert Kitson in The Guardian. It is usually at this point, with just a few weeks to go until the World Cup, that they get ahead of themselves and “start believing in their own brilliance”. But Jones is determined to avoid that. He is approaching the tournament like a mountaineer: “peaking too soon is no way to conquer Everest”.