England began life under Martin Johnson with a 39-13 victory over a plucky Pacific Islands side at Twickenham on Saturday.
Given that this was the first game under Martin Johnson, we were not expecting a masterpiece that flowed with an ease so dearly sought by the top sides and their coaches. However, if the glimpses of brilliance are to go by Johnson and his cohorts could be on to something, clearly Brian Smith's desire to attack has seen his players show more adventure in eighty minutes than England ever saw under Brian Ashton.
There were foundations for a performance of note, sadly in the first half errors and penalties cost England when they looked most likely to score. Instead they had to rely on two moments of magic -- sadly for England sandwiched in between was a Pacific Islands try that Cipriani will be in a hurry to forget.
Delon Armitage was a shining light at the back, taking to Test rugby like the proverbial duck to water, and had more than a hand in England's first try. Clean line-out ball saw Danny Care slip through a weak tackle and set England rolling towards the line. As England exploited the space Armitage timed his entry into the line to perfection before throwing an audacious pass over his shoulder to a flying Paul Sackey. With Cipriani adding the extras England looked to be settling into the game.
Less than a minute later they were stood under their own posts ruing a poor Cipriani clearance kick -- his only blot on the copy book -- that Seru Rabeni pounced on for one of the easiest tries he will ever score. Whilst the nature of the try was not what the Islanders had in mind it was nothing less than they deserved for an enterprising start to the game.
Strangely the game began to drift, as England twice went through twelve phases -- looking impressive in doing so -- only to see the hard work wasted with lapses in concentration from players you would expect better of.
It took Danny Care's splendid vision -- and a horrendous missed tackle from Vilimoni Delasau -- to spark the England backs into life, and how they reacted to the smallest chance to stretch their legs. Wide it went to Ugo Monye, deep in his own twenty-two, and after bumping off Delasau's feeble effort, he opened his legs and set England on their way to a stunning counter-attacking try. It was finished by Cipriani, Monye suffering the indignity of eventually being caught by a prop, but it showed England are slowly shaking off Ashton's shackles.
The second half started in fine fashion, England playing with plenty of intent -- despite the heavy rain -- and testing the Islander's defence. In the end it cracked with Nick Kennedy cutting back against the grain to score a well taken try on debut. As in the first-half England failed to kick on, once again settling back into their old habits that Johnson and co. have worked so hard to eradicate.
By the time Lee Mears added a fourth try with just ten minutes to go the game, as a contest, was as good as over. The Islanders, with a raft of replacements on the field, lost all shape and reverted back to what they knew best -- running rugby at all costs.
It was their undoing as Sackey added a second, benefiting from turnover ball deep inside the Islander's twenty-two. As for the Islanders, we got what we expected -- a direct and physical approach with plenty of adventure thrown in for good measure.
And whilst this was not vintage England the signs are there that Johnson can mould a team capable of winning at all costs, with the added bonus of some "sexy rugby" when the hard work has been done up front.
The tests that lie ahead will prove a lot more difficult, and they will be punished for the slightest of errors, but on the whole this was a vastly improved England from the one that came back from New Zealand earlier in the year.
Man of the Match: Making your Test debut is usually about settling into the side and getting to grips with the increased intensity of the rugby. Not if your name is Delon Armitage. The London Irish full-back, who was not even in Martin Johnson's original plans, announced himself on the international stage with a superb performance. There was an air of Chris Latham about him as he climb highest on every occasion to collect towering kicks, and an ease in his running that saw him create the first try. The test for Armitage now is to deliver to this standard on a regular basis, easier said than done with the big three Southern Hemisphere sides lying in wait.
Moment of the Match: Surely this award has to go to Danny Care's quick tapped penalty that lead to England's second try. It showed both Care's Sevens vision coming to the fore, but also the new belief England have in trusting their ability. And with the likes of Monye, Armitage and Sackey lurking out wide why not chance your arm from time to time. Hats off to Brian Smith for unearthing England's hitherto dormant attacking potential.
Villain of the Match: Hats off to both sides for staying focused on the rugby. Nothing untoward to report here.
The Scorers:
For England:
Tries: Sackey 2, Cipriani, Kennedy, Mears
Cons: Cipriani 4
Pens: Cipriani 2
For Pacific Islands:
Try: Rabeni
Con: Hola
Pens: Hola 2
The Teams:
England: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Dan Cipriani, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Tom Rees, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Nick Kennedy, 4 Steve Borthwick (c), 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Phil Vickery, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 James Haskell, 20 Michael Lipman, 21 Harry Ellis, 22 Toby Flood.
Pacific Islands: 15 Kameli Ratuvou (Fiji), 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau (Samoa), 13 Seru Rabeni (Fiji), 12 Seilala Mapusua (Samoa), 11 Vilimoni Delasau (Fiji), 10 Pierre Hola (Tonga), 9 Mosese Rauluni (Fiji), 8 Finau Maka (Tonga), 7 Nili Latu (Tonga), 6 Semisi Naevo (Fiji), 5 Kele Leawere (Fiji), 4 Filipo Levi (Samoa), 3 Census Johnston (Samoa), 2 Aleki Lutui (Tonga), 1 Justin Va'a (Samoa).
Replacements: 16 Sunia Koto (Fiji), 17 Kisi Pulu (Tonga), 18 Hale T Pole (Tonga), 19 George Stowers (Samoa), 20 Sililo Martens (Tonga), 21 Seremaïa Bai (Fiji), 22 Epi Taione (Tonga).
Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Touch judges: Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Assessor: Dennis Immelman (South Africa)
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