England inflict Wales' darkest day as Six Nations title chasers romp to stunning 10-try win in Cardiff

England finished their Six Nations campaign with a flourish as they inflicted Wales’ darkest day following a 68-14 hammering at the Principality Stadium.

Against their biggest rivals in the game, the Welsh were utterly outclassed by a ruthless English outfit, who were dominant from start to finish.

Steve Borthwick’s men were excellent in all facets but the tone was no doubt set by the forwards, who were absolutely brutal in contact.

They touched down five times in the first half through Maro Itoje, Tom Roebuck, Tommy Freeman, Chandler Cunningham-South and Will Stuart.

Although the visitors were not quite as impressive at the start of the second period, they still controlled matters and then ended in fine style, scoring five more times via Alex Mitchell, Joe Heyes, Cunningham-South and debutant Henry Pollock, who touched down twice.

England duly kept themselves in the Six Nations title hunt and condemned Wales to a second successive Wooden Spoon and a 17th Test loss in a row.

Borthwick stated his intention for the team to play with pace and tempo, but after what they showed against Scotland, you would have forgiven the fans for not believing what the head coach was saying.

However, England stayed true to his promise and from the kick-off looked to test the Welsh defence.  They were utterly brutal in contact with their big runners consistently sending the hosts into reverse.

It took just three minutes for the Red Rose to open the scoring.  Tom Curry made the hard yards following an inventive lineout move before Itoje took it upon himself to touch down from close range.

Wales thought they had immediately responded when Blair Murray latched on to a loose ball and scorched across the whitewash, but it was ruled out for Tomos Williams being offside.

That moment rather encapsulated the clash with seemingly everything going in the visitors’ favour in the opening period as moments later the English had their second try.

Once again the powerhouse forwards did the hard work, but this time the finesse was provided by the backs as Fin Smith’s beautifully weighted pass was collected and finished by Roebuck.

To the hosts’ credit, they did hit back when Freeman was caught out close to his line, allowing Ben Thomas to go over unopposed, but the England centre would soon get his own back.

The Northampton Saint showed his class to take advantage of more good work by those up front to shake off a couple of defenders to score.

It would begin a passage of play which saw the visitors score three tries in seven minutes as the Red Rose moved into a dominant position at half-time.

Cunningham-South was the second to go over during that blitz before Stuart was the beneficiary of a bizarre build-up.

Akin to Courtney Lawes’ try against Japan in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the Red Rose were the beneficiary of similar fortune at the Principality Stadium.

On Saturday, it was another loosehead ― Ellis Genge ― who quite literally used his head to set up the position for Fraser Dingwall and Ben Curry to combine for Stuart to cross.

Those quick-fire scores effectively ended the game as a contest and, as a result, the second period was initially a bit of a damp squib.

England’s intensity reduced and they began to make mistakes, allowing Wales opportunities to try and save face, but Matt Sherratt’s men were unable to take advantage.

The English remained resolute in defence while the Welsh were profligate and it was the visitors who were first on the scoreboard in the second period.

Once again, they were thankful for some more fortune when an attempted Wales pass hit the head of Elliot Daly, but Mitchell showed great awareness and speed to collect and score.

Of all the dreadful days in Welsh rugby, particularly over recent times, this was arguably the worst and England added to their pain when Pollock went over on debut.

Heyes then crossed the whitewash as England moved past a half-century of points and, although Thomas responded for the Welsh, Borthwick’s men deservedly had the final word through Pollock and Cunningham-South.

It completed a wonderful day for the English but Welsh rugby surely cannot sink any lower.

The teams

Wales:  15 Blair Murray, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Joe Roberts, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Jac Morgan (c), 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Dewi Lake, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Nick Tompkins

England:  15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Henry Pollock, 21 Tom Willis, 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 George Ford

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Pierre Brousset (France), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO:  Mike Adamson (Scotland)

Seven-try England beat Italy to move above Ireland on Six Nations table

A second-half flurry of tries helped England see off the challenge of Italy in a 47-24 home victory that puts them right in the hunt for Six Nations glory next week.

Tries from Tom Willis, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Sleightholme (2), Marcus Smith, Tom Curry and Ben Earl saw them to a seven-try win, with Fin Smith sending over 12 points.

However, a serious injury to Ollie Lawrence that left him in a protective boot will concern head coach Steve Borthwick ahead of next week’s meeting against Wales in Cardiff.

Ange Capuozzo, Ross Vintcent and Tommaso Menoncello crossed for Italy but they will be hugely disappointed at how they fell apart in the second 40, this after a good start.

The opening period was wonderfully entertaining as both sides threw caution to the wind in welcome March sunshine as those in attendance were treated to five first-half tries.

England struck first as early as the third minute when a break down the right wing from Freeman saw him offload to Tom Curry before the recycled ball saw Willis dive over.

However, joy turned to despair soon after when star centre Lawrence departed the action after dropping to the ground off the ball with what appeared to be an Achilles injury.

Italy would respond to the break in play the better as two chip kicks over the top, the first from Paolo Garbisi and second from Monty Ioane, found Capuozzo, who raced over.

7-7 could easily have been 10-7 to Italy on 23 minutes but Garbisi was wayward with his penalty attempt and England would make them pay soon after down the other end.

The hosts went close and felt aggrieved when Earl was tackled in a maul, but a minute later a kick in behind from Elliot Daly led to Freeman getting there first for his score.

But Italy once again struck back in style with full-back Capuozzo involved, this time scorching through a tiny hole on halfway before finding Vintcent who raced over to level.

The end-to-end nature of the match continued on 35 minutes though when England went wide left to where Sleightholme was in space and he sprinted over to make it 21-14.

Italy did manage to reduce the arrears before half-time courtesy of a Garbisi penalty and would have been pleased with their efforts going in for a rest just four points adrift.

However, England came out for the resumption in scintillating form as a quick-fire double from Marcus Smith and Tom Curry moved them up to a 35-17 lead on 47 minutes.

That became 42-17 six minutes later when slick handling from Maro Itoje and Jamie George set Sleightholme up for his brace and Fin Smith slotted the tough touchline extras.

There was then a lull in the fixture as England had the result and try bonus point safely wrapped up and rang the changes with the 100-cap George one of those departing.

That drought would end on the 71st minute when Martin Page-Relo found Menoncello for Italy’s third try but Ben Curry sent Earl over late on as England had the last say.

The teams

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ted Hill, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Curry, 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 Marcus Smith

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Monty Ioane, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Matt Gallagher, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Lorenzo Cannone, 22 Martin Page-Relo, 23 Tommaso Allan

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Craig Evans (Wales), Luc Ramos (France)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Finn Russell misses cost Scotland, England win Calcutta Cup

Finn Russell’s three missed conversions proved costly as Scotland somehow lost the Calcutta Cup following a 16-15 defeat to a poor England side at Twickenham.

The visitors utterly dominated the opening hour of the game but they found themselves just 10-7 ahead thanks to tries from Ben White and Huw Jones.

England’s only response came via Tommy Freeman but it was enough to keep them in the contest as the Scots’ profligacy harmed them.

The Red Rose would duly take advantage despite their pretty abysmal display with Marcus Smith kicking two three-pointers and Fin Smith adding one of his own which would confirm the win.

That was despite a remarkable ending to the match as Scotland manufactured a brilliantly worked try for Duhan van der Merwe.

It left Russell with a conversion out wide to win it but, like his other two efforts, it drifted wide of the uprights as Scotland failed to go five in a row against England.

Irrespective of what Scotland have done or what they go on to do, they always bring the performance against England and by and large they did so again on Saturday.

Considering how poor they were against Ireland and for large parts of their game with Italy, logic dictated that Gregor Townsend’s men would struggle at Twickenham, but they were excellent in the first half.

England’s defence certainly helped as their narrowness and passiveness enabled Russell, Tom Jordan and Blair Kinghorn to pick them off.

Scotland spread the ball wide with regularity and, as a result, that man Van der Merwe once again thrived.

The gargantuan wing was hugely influential for the first score as his off-load, combined with good hands from Kinghorn, sent Jordan free.  Although the centre still had plenty to do, he sent a beautiful pass inside for White to finish.

England did hit back as a spell of pressure resulted in Freeman crossing the whitewash, but the visitors were by far the better side.

Every time they had the ball in opposition territory they looked like creating something, which rather meant their two-try return in the opening half would have probably disappointed head coach Townsend.

Jones would get their second after more superb work from Van der Merwe, but they would fail to add to that for the next 60 minutes.

In fact, the Scots could have gone into the break behind had Ollie Lawrence got his off-load right having initially sent Marcus Smith clear.

Smith took play to within five metres before the centre got his hands on the ball for the second time, but his attempted pass went straight into touch to end the half.

Quite frankly, England were fortunate to only be three points behind at the break but they didn’t seem to heed the warning as Scotland continued to control matters in the second period.

Townsend’s outfit were comfortable against this English team but they almost became too relaxed as they failed to add to the scoreboard.

As a result, it enabled the hosts to edge their way into the contest and when the Scots conceded a penalty, Marcus Smith levelled matters off the tee.

All of a sudden, the visitors started to make errors and the Red Rose capitalised, with the two Smiths kicking a penalty apiece to take them 16-10 ahead.

That looked to have sealed the win for England, but there was a dramatic conclusion when Scotland manufactured another brilliant try.

Stafford McDowall scythed through the middle and the ball was sent out wide for Van der Merwe to finish.  It left Russell with a difficult conversion and for the third time in the game he missed to hand England the win and the Calcutta Cup.

The teams

England:  15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellie Genge
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ted Hill, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Curry, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Elliot Daly

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Matt Fagerson, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall

Referee:  Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Luc Ramos (France)
TMO:  Tual Trainini (France)

Fin Smith leads England to shock Six Nations win over France

England ended their wait for a victory over a Tier 1 nation with a gutsy 26-25 win over France at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

Player of the Match Fin Smith’s conversion in the 80th minute after Elliot Daly’s try was enough to get them over the line, but other scores from Ollie Lawrence, Tommy Freeman and Fin Baxter ensured they took away maximum points in their quest for the Six Nations title.

The opening 10 minutes were as cagey as you could imagine, with kick-tennis dominating much of the game, but Les Bleus certainly looked to have the upper hand.

A delicious break from Thomas Ramos created their best chance to capitalise on this dominance, as he sliced open the English defence with ease, however just as France looked to pounce Alexandre Roumat spilled the ball and gave England an easy reprieve.

The full-back had another golden opportunity to put his team into the lead, this time from the tee, but the usually automatic kicker pulled his effort just wide.

England nearly made them pay for this miss too.  A turnover from Tom Curry gave them their first genuine period of possession in France’s half, and strong carries from Tom Willis and Lawrence saw them get to within touching distance of the line, but a pivotal turnover cost them just as they looked to pounce.

With broken field ahead of them, France looked to strike.  Les Bleus almost teleported up the pitch and to within striking distance of the English line, but Ramos’ pass was spilt into touch by the mercurial Antoine Dupont and yet another chance went begging.

This wasn’t the end of it though.  France stole the proceeding lineout and looked to set-up shop in England’s five-metre.  Some solid smash-and-bash from the pack gave them a perfect chance to finally cross the whitewash, however, Damian Penaud lost control of the ball and the chance was gone.

But, France did eventually make their dominance count as Louis Bielle-Biarrey latched onto Penaud’s clever grubber kick to score.

This seemed to bring England back to life, and they hit back with a try of their own through Lawrence as he powered over from short distance.

Momentum was beginning to shift towards the hosts now too, and a cheap penalty from Penaud allowed England to once again march into the 22;  however, a costly knock-on from Curry saw the attack grind to a halt just as quickly as it began.

The opening of the second-half was the complete opposite of the first, but it still had the same theme running through it.  France missed chances.

A sneaky rip from Bielle-Biarrey saw the Bordeaux flier motor towards the England line, but in keeping with the rest of the game, his pass to Peato Mauvaka fell to the floor just as the Toulouse hooker looked like walking home.

Les Bleus eventually did add to their tally, though, as Ramos knocked over two three-pointers to pull his side six points ahead.

This didn’t deter the hosts though, as Freeman soared highest to collect Fin Smith’s pinpoint cross-field kick to dot down and bring them back to within one point.

France hit back with an instant response though as Penaud crossed out wide.  Some delicious play from Ramos, Gregory Alldritt and Bielle-Biarrey marched the visitors down the pitch.  Then, quick hands through the backs found the Bordeaux winger in space out wide, and he made no mistake with the finish.

Again, England rallied after this and came within a whisker of scoring.  A cute delayed pass from Fin Smith saw replacement Jamie George charge through the French line, and he later connected with Tom Curry too, however a heroic tackle from Oscar Jegou denied the Sale man a certain try.

But, a costly French knock-on from the resulting restart gifted England possession back in the 22, however, another missed kick from Marcus Smith meant France got off scot-free.

England weren’t sent packing though, even with Smith’s latest miss of the tee, and they eventually made their pressure count as Baxter burrowed over from short-range.  A change in kicker proved just the ticket too, as Fin Smith’s conversion put England back ahead with less than 10 minutes to go.

This lead vanished in a matter of minutes though, as Bielle-Biarrey finished off a simply sensational counter-attack.  Ramos’ conversion split the uprights, and once again France led by six with just four minutes left on the clock.

With the clock winding down, England had one final throw of the dice, and they made it count as Daly powered over after a clever strike move.  Fin Smith’s conversion sailed through the sticks too, giving England that long-awaited win over a Tier 1 side.

The teams

England:  15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Tom Curry, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Curry, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Elliot Daly

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Grégory Alldritt, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Alexandre Roumat, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements:  16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Mickaël Guillard, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 23 Émilien Gailleton

Referee:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees:  Andrea Piardi (Italy), Damian Schneider (Argentina)
TMO:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

Ireland's superb second half sees England shredded in Six Nations

Simon Easterby’s brief stint in charge of Ireland started in ideal fashion as they came from behind at the break to earn a 27-22 victory over England at the Aviva Stadium.

The Red Rose were impressive in the first half and held a 10-5 advantage at the interval through Cadan Murley’s try and Marcus Smith’s penalty.

Jamison Gibson-Park had responded for an Ireland side who lacked the fluency we’ve come to expect, but they rectified that in the second period.

They dominated the final 40 minutes, with tries from Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Sheehan sealing the win.

It was yet another missed opportunity for England, who undid all the good work after the interval, despite Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman’s efforts giving them a losing bonus-point.

While few expected England to win against the defending Six Nations champions, most thought they would provide Ireland with stern opposition and so it proved as Borthwick’s side began on the front foot.

A mixture of accurate kicking and some fine moments in broken field kept the Irish defence guessing and they got their reward early on.

Marcus Smith had already shown the threat they can pose when he linked with Freeman to send the Northampton Saint scampering down the right.

Although that attack broke down, the visitors were deservedly on the board soon after.  Ollie Lawrence made the initial incursion before play was shifted left and Henry Slade’s grubber through was picked up and finished by Murley on his Test debut.

Following that fine attacking start, it was all about defence for the Red Rose as Ireland got into groove with the ball.

It offered a chance for Sam Prendergast to prove his selection and, at times, it worked well, but too often passes went to ground.

Ireland were certainly better than they were in the Autumn Nations Series, however, particularly with their intensity and physicality in the contact area, and it put the opposition under pressure.

It resulted in a string of penalties and eventually referee Ben O’Keeffe ran out of patience, leading to a yellow card for Smith.

The Red Rose held out well for the next 10 minutes but a simple missed tackle was eventually their undoing as James Lowe shook off Alex Mitchell and found Gibson-Park, who finished brilliantly.

Prendergast missed the conversion, though, and that proved costly as England moved five points clear at the interval through a Smith three-pointer.

Unperturbed, the hosts continued to dominate possession and territory, while the visitors’ discipline remained poor.  England were unfortunate with a few decisions but there were also some needless penalties and that gave Ireland front foot ball.

Eventually, the dam broke when they isolated Aki one-on-one with Smith, but the Ireland centre still did superbly to bounce him off and finish under pressure.

Ireland now had the momentum while the Red Rose continued to make errors and another infringement enabled Prendergast to make his first kick of the game.

The hosts were very much beginning to find their rhythm and they concocted a brilliant attack when Lowe took an outstanding line through the heart of the English rearguard.  It was Beirne who supplied the excellent support and the lock duly touched down to end the game as a contest.

All that Ireland required for the perfect evening was the bonus-point and that came through the returning Sheehan, who latched onto some more wonderful work from Lowe.

England did finish with a flourish thanks to scores from Curry and Freeman, but it was very much the hosts’ day.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Robbie Henshaw

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Tom Willis, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Fin Smith

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  James Doleman (New Zealand), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

England seal dominant victory over Eddie Jones’ Japan to round off disastrous Autumn Nations Series as defensive concerns remain

England ended a run of five successive defeats and concluded their Autumn Nations Series campaign with a dominant 59-14 triumph over Japan.

It provided a brief respite for their under pressure head coach Steve Borthwick, who saw his side control the game from start to finish.

The Englishmen were too strong for a poor an underpowered Japan side as they moved into a 35-7 advantage at the interval thanks to tries from Ben Earl, Sam Underhill, Jamie George (twice) and Ollie Sleightholme.

Naoto Saito touched down for the Brave Blossoms and Kazuki Himeno went over in the second period, but Eddie Jones’ men were comprehensively outplayed at Twickenham.

England scored four more tries after the break as George Furbank, Luke Cowan-Dickie (twice) and Tom Roebuck went over to complete an easy and much-needed win.

England were looking for a positive end to their Autumn Nations Series and, on the scoreboard at least, they got it.  They overpowered Japan and had the game won by half-time.

Most of the hard work was done by those up front, although there was the odd positive sign from the backline.

That included Ollie Lawrence, who created the first try, as the centre broke through the middle and found Earl to go over unopposed.

England’s forwards then went to work and, following a series of close-range surges, Underhill crossed the whitewash and was awarded a try, despite appearing to lose control of the ball.  It was awarded, however, and the Red Rose moved 14-0 ahead.

Japan were already on the back foot and they struggled to stem the tide, particularly at the set-piece.  The Red Rose scrum was consistently doing damage and setting up the position for the hosts to set up the maul, where George was the beneficiary.

Twice the captain went over after their pack charged towards the line, handing them a dominant 28-0 advantage after just half-an-hour.

Jones’ men had failed to truly fire a shot but, in the 34th minute, they finally got outside of that fallible English rush defence and scored a magnificent try.

Once again, the home side got it wrong, leaving their wide channel exposed, but that shouldn’t detract from the work of Dylan Riley, whose wonderful run was finished by Saito.

That was the visitors’ only positive in the first half, though, as England extended their buffer at the interval through Sleightholme after a wonderful pass from tighthead Will Stuart.

The second period continued in much the same fashion as the first, albeit the Red Rose were not quite as clinical as the first, while their defence continued to struggle when Japan were able to shift the ball wide.

Borthwick’s outfit registered two tries in the third quarter, with the first coming via a particularly special off-load from Tommy Freeman, as the wing’s superb piece of skill was collected and score by Furbank.

Cowan-Dickie then touched down before Japan manufactured another wonderful try, which was finished off by Himeno.

Their joy did not last long, though, as the hosts’ replacement hooker made it brace by scoring for a second time from close range.

It was all a bit too easy for England, who rounded off the victory when Fin Smith’s crossfield kick was well finished by Roebuck.

The teams

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Tom Roebuck

Japan:  15 Takuro Matsunaga, 14 Tomoki Osada, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Siosaia Fifita, 11 Jone Naikabula, 10 Nicholas McCurran, 9 Naoto Saito, 8 Faulua Makisi, 7 Kazuki Himeno, 6 Kanji Shimokawa, 5 Epineri Uluiviti, 4 Sanaila Waqa, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Mamoru Harada, 1 Takato Okabe
Replacements:  16 Seunghyuk Lee, 17 Yukio Morikawa, 18 Keijiro Tamefusa, 19 Daichi Akiyama, 20 Tevita Tatafu, 21 Ben Gunter, 22 Shinobu Fujiwara, 23 Yusuke Kajimura

Referee:  Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Andrea Piardi (Italy), Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO:  Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Springboks show champion qualities as Cheslin Kolbe scores twice to beat England and pile more pressure on Steve Borthwick

The Springboks showed their world champion qualities to withstand a competitive England performance and take a 29-20 victory at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

It increases the pressure on Red Rose head coach Steve Borthwick, who once again saw his side produce some good things but ultimately fall short in a fifth successive loss.

After narrow defeats to the All Blacks and Wallabies, they succumbed to the number one team in the world as tries from Grant Williams, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cheslin Kolbe (twice) secured the win for South Africa.

The Red Rose were 20-19 in front at one stage after converted tries from Ollie Sleightholme and Sam Underhill, allied by 10 points from the boot of Marcus Smith, but once again they faltered in the latter stages of the match.

England ― and their head coach ― remain under pressure after yet another reversal, but one player who doesn’t appear to be feeling that is Marcus Smith.

Their best player against both the All Blacks and the Wallabies, the fly-half was once again the hosts’ main creator at Twickenham and set up their opening score on Saturday.

The Red Rose had started well and their playmaker shaped up for a drop-goal but, when Eben Etzebeth flew out of the line to close him down, Smith dummied, sped towards the left-hand side and found Henry Slade, who fed Sleightholme to score.

It was an excellent opening for Borthwick but the world champions soon responded to level thanks to a brilliant individual try from Williams, who beat Ellis Genge and Freddie Steward to touch down.

England regained their lead through the boot of Smith but South Africa began to force errors.  Etzebeth was key to that and, after the lock charged down Jack van Poortvliet, Du Toit followed up to do the same to Smith before collecting and scoring.

The Springboks then made it a nine-point buffer after Libbok’s cross-field kick was finished by Kolbe.

At that point, the visitors had the momentum and could have taken control but, to the home side’s credit, they hit back and gave themselves hope via Underhill’s close-range effort.

That kept them in the game at the break and they managed to edge in front in the third quarter.  Both sides had tries ruled out ― Springboks for a forward pass and England for a croc roll ― before Smith was successful with a penalty.

The second period certainly did not have the pace and tempo of the first half but it was no less intriguing with the physicality and intensity off the charts.

It was all about the small wins and the Boks began to get an edge in the contact area with Handre Pollard kicking a three-pointer after an English infringement to take the tourists back in front.

Then came the decisive moment as Damian de Allende’s power did for Slade and Ben Earl as he charged through and passed to Kolbe, who once again showed his incredible balance and footwork to finish.

That was ultimately enough to claim the victory, despite some needless penalties from the Boks which led to Gerhard Steenekamp’s yellow card.

There was no lack of effort from England but their execution was severely lacking, while Rassie Erasmus’ men defended superbly in the final quarter to secure the win.

The teams

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Tom Roebuck

South Africa:  15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 RG Snyman, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

England stunned by the Wallabies as dramatic late try from rookie piles the pressure on Steve Borthwick

Joseph Suaalii made a fine first impression on his professional rugby union debut as Max Jorgensen’s late try secured a stunning 42-37 victory over England in another Twickenham thriller.

After a slow start, which saw England go 15-3 ahead through a pair of Chandler Cunningham-South tries, the Australians hit back superbly.

Suaalii came to the fore, setting up Tom Wright’s score, before Harry Wilson went over to move the visitors 20-18 ahead at the interval.

Jeremy Williams crossed to extend that buffer but England responded as an Ollie Sleightholme brace regained the hosts’ lead.

Andrew Kellaway and Maro Itoje traded scores before Jorgensen was the hero when he sped down the left for the Wallabies’ match-winning try to increase the pressure on Steve Borthwick.

The end was a far cry from England’s blistering start.  Frustrated by their defeat to the All Blacks last weekend, the hosts began quickly and manufactured a superb early try.

Marcus Smith was the instigator, dabbing a grubber through for Ollie Lawrence to collect.  The ball was then shifted right and good hands from Tom Curry, Jamie George and Ellis Genge sent Cunningham-South across the whitewash.

Although the visitors responded through a Noah Lolesio penalty, the big blindside scored his second try minutes later.  Former rugby league superstar Suaalii was partially at fault as he bit in to allow Cunningham-South a one-on-one which enabled the back-rower to barge over.

However, the 21-year-old soon got himself into the game and would show what he can do.  The centre was excellent at the restarts while he was constantly getting his hands free and off-loading, with one such effort leading to try.

The Red Rose had gone 15-3 ahead through a Smith three-pointer when Suaalii announced himself to rugby union when he basketball-style flicked the ball over the top of the England defence to give Wright a run to the line.

It was the boost the Wallabies needed as they began to find their fluency.  Although ill-discipline allowed England’s fly-half to add another off the tee, the tourists were putting their opponents under significant pressure.

Their big ball-carriers ― Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou and Rob Valetini ― were making ground at closer quarters and that opened the space for Tate McDermott to snipe around the fringes.  The scrum-half duly broke through the English rearguard and found Wilson to touch down.

Lolesio converted and then added a penalty on the stroke of half-time to hand Australia a surprise lead at the interval.

England had been stunned and needed a response, but it did not materialise.  Instead, it was Joe Schmidt’s men who took their momentum into the second period and dominated a Red Rose side that simply could not defend.

Australia played some outstanding rugby and deserved the try given to them by Williams’ finish in the left-hand corner.

A minute later and they could have scored another one when Wright broke from his own 22 as the hosts were once again cut open.  England were thankful that it yielded just a penalty for the Aussies as it kept them in the contest.

That belief then grew when Smith created a try for Sleightholme as his grubber through was collected and scored by the replacement.

All of a sudden the momentum switched and it was England who began to create opportunities as the Wallabies failed to control field position and possession.

The hosts duly took advantage of being on the front foot and a neat delay of the pass from Alex Dombrandt enabled Sleightholme to go over.

Smith then slotted the conversion as England regained their advantage, but back came Australia as a mix-up from George Ford and Lawrence allowed Kellaway to break away and cross the whitewash.

Borthwick’s men thought they had rescued it but once again they got it wrong in the latter stages and 20-year-old Jorgensen touched down following Len Ikitau’s superb off-load to leave Twickenham shocked.

The teams

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Sleightholme

Australia:  15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

All Blacks snatch late win as George Ford’s errors prove costly for England

It was a case of deja vu for the All Blacks and England as the tourists edged to yet another narrow victory, earning a 24-22 win at Allianz Stadium.

In July, New Zealand came back in the final quarter to snatch a 2-0 series triumph over Steve Borthwick’s men and they did the same on Saturday.

It was a thrilling if mistake-ridden contest which saw the All Blacks go 14-12 ahead at the break through Mark Tele’a and Will Jordan tries.

Marcus Smith kicked four penalties to keep the Red Rose in the game before the fly-half set up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s score in the second period.

Smith then added another three-pointer and it looked as though the hosts would finally beat the All Blacks, but a late response, which saw Damian McKenzie land a penalty and Tele’a cross the whitewash, resulted in New Zealand’s third consecutive win over England.

It was George Ford, who had come on for the brilliant Smith, that missed the tackle for Tele’a’s try while he was also awry with two late kicks that would have won the game for Borthwick’s outfit.

England have taken a much more adventurous approach under Borthwick in 2024 and they signalled their intent from the kick-off when Smith’s cross-field kick to Feyi-Waboso almost worked out.

That bold decision was indicative of a bright start from the hosts, who moved in front via the boot of their fly-half.

However, the All Blacks’ kicking game was also dangerous, with Cortez Ratima and the two backline Barretts testing the English aerial game.

Equally, they looked to move the ball through the hands when the opportunity presented itself and that variety proved too difficult for the Red Rose to handle on eight minutes.

Wallace Sititi, who was brilliant once again, was the creator as the back-rower’s brilliant off-load found Tele’a out wide.  The wing still had plenty to do but he rounded Ellis Genge and finished in the corner.

That wasn’t the only chance New Zealand created but at times they were profligate, while their ill-discipline was allowing England to remain close.

Three off-the-ball hits were called by the television match official and on each occasion Smith was able to punish them off the tee.

England’s fly-half was keeping his side in the game as their defence struggled to stay connected against the All Blacks’ smart attack.

More often than not Beauden Barrett was taking the right option and he spotted a gaping hole to send Jordan scampering through for another try.

Robertson’s men threatened to break free at that point, but the penalty count hurt them and a fourth Smith three-pointer reduced the arrears to two points at the interval.

That ability to stay in the contest proved crucial for the hosts and they benefited from another error by New Zealand at the start of the second period.

The All Blacks got themselves in a tangle with ball in hand and Ratima’s pass, who otherwise had a mistake-free match, was intercepted by Smith.

He still had plenty to do, especially with Jordan bearing down on him, but the playmaker dummied and found his support in George Furbank, who shipped it on to Feyi-Waboso to touch down.

England grew in confidence following that score while the All Blacks began to make a few too many mistakes and the home side controlled territory.

However, New Zealand are always dangerous, particularly off turnover ball, and they appeared to have scored when Caleb Clarke broke down the left and fed Beauden Barrett, but it was correctly called back for a deliberate knock-on.

From the resultant penalty, Smith was once again on target and England held a 22-14 advantage with a quarter of the game remaining.

The All Blacks struggled in the final 20 minutes of matches in the Rugby Championship, but they got back to within a score through McKenzie’s three-pointer.

And as New Zealand did in July, they began to ramp up the intensity and, under pressure, the Red Rose folded as Tele’a crossed the whitewash for a second time, McKenzie converting for the lead.

Ford missed the tackle on the wing to allow him to score but the replacement fly-half ― and his team ― still had an opportunity to snatch the win in the final few minutes.

The pivot was twice handed the chance to atone for that error but he was awry on both occasions as the All Blacks held on.

The teams

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Alex Dombrandt, 22 Harry Randall, 23 George Ford

All Blacks:  15 Will Jordan, 14 Mark Tele’a, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Damian McKenzie

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Pierre Brousset (France), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

All Blacks keep Eden Park fortress intact with dramatic win over England

The All Blacks were made to work hard again by an improving England side but they managed to get the job done with a thrilling 24-17 victory at Eden Park.

It was another fast start by the hosts, who went 7-0 ahead through Mark Tele’a’s try, but just like last weekend the Red Rose responded.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso levelled matters with an excellent effort and, although successive Damian McKenzie penalties took New Zealand 13-7 in front, the English hit back via Tommy Freeman.

After Marcus Smith converted and added a three-pointer early in the second period, the visitors were in control, but they couldn’t build on it.

The All Blacks kept themselves in the contest and finished the stronger, winning the match through Tele’a’s second score and McKenzie’s third penalty.

As a result, the home side stretched their unbeaten run at Eden Park to 49 matches, a record they had held for 30 years.

Beauden Barrett’s super-sub cameo conjured a try for Tele’a, ignited the All Blacks’ attack and produced a series of important inventions.

England had been magnificent until his arrival with second-rows Maro Itoje and George Martin and Feyi-Waboso outstanding, aided by the leveller of the hosts’ spectacular line-out malfunction.

But, despite dominating territory and possession in the third quarter, points were elusive and they fell short with an overtime attempt to snatch a draw when a line-out drive that reached the line was penalised.

New Zealand’s 30-year unbeaten record at Eden Park had survived in a gripping Test between two well-matched rivals, who clash again at Twickenham on November 2.

For England it was another missed opportunity but they at least showed fight to stay in the hunt following a worrying start.

Their scrum struggled ― a theme of the game ― Freddie Steward was slow to deal with a kick and their defence was too soft in the face of an Ardie Savea carry that allowed Tele’a to touch down.

But their response to Tele’a scooting down an unguarded blindside was stunning as Smith directed a pinpoint chip into space between two All Blacks for Feyi-Waboso to gather and produce a sharp finish.

Smith then came to the rescue in defence as New Zealand went within one pass of scoring, intercepting at the critical moment while Steward applied pressure by covering with determination.

McKenzie nudged the All Blacks ahead with a penalty but there were promising signs from England’s attack as they pieced together phases.

Ben Earl was hustled off the ball at the back of a scrum by Finlay Christie as another strong position passed without points being scored, while New Zealand’s line-out was malfunctioning with Itoje picking off one errant throw.

McKenzie was on target again but England pounced on the stroke of half-time when Martin made hard yards for Smith to find Freeman with another accurate kick and the wing’s athleticism and handling skills did the rest.

Smith landed a penalty to increase the lead to 17-13 but the points came after a bustling attack was ended by a Jamie George knock-on that could have yielded a great prize.

England were camped in home territory, helped by Sevu Reece kicking out on the full and a monster Smith touch-finder, yet were unable to reflect their control of territory on the scoreboard.

When the All Blacks finally escaped their half, they pounced with Barrett racing through a hole and providing the scoring pass to Tele’a.

Barrett had come on with 23 minutes to go and virtually every touch was influential, providing New Zealand with renewed purpose as McKenzie’s penalty delivered the final points.

The teams

New Zealand:  15 Stephen Perofeta, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Beauden Barrett

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George, 1 Fin Baxter
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Ollie Sleightholme

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Damon Murphy (Australia), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

Scott Robertson’s era begins with dramatic victory

The All Blacks began Scott Robertson’s reign with a tight and tense victory as they overcame England 16-15 at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

There were a few errors from both sides but it proved to be a thrilling contest. It may have New Zealand’s first game under Robertson but they showed some fluency in attack in the first half, scoring two tries via Sevu Reece and Ardie Savea.

Maro Itoje had given the Red Rose a 7-5 advantage before Savea’s try re-established the hosts lead. However, Marcus Smith’s penalty levelled matters at the interval.

Smith would struggle off the tee, missing two relatively simple attempts, but he was influential in attack and assisted the score for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s score.

Those missed kicks would prove costly, though, and successive Damian McKenzie three-pointers enabled the All Blacks to kick-start the Robertson era with a tense win over the English.

England were outstanding in patches and they showed tremendous fight when it was needed to stay in contention, but they finished knowing they had missed a glorious opportunity to upset a side that is rebuilding after the World Cup.

Smith was unable to reward a dominant early scrum penalty by missing a routine kick and when an ugly line-out invited pressure, the All Blacks staged a sustained attack.

Having faltered close to the line because of a knock-on and then conceded a scrum free-kick, they regrouped to claim the opening try with Reece grabbing McKenzie’s cross-field kick to touch down.

England hit back impressively, their runners flooding through gaps until a line-out provided the platform for Chandler Cunningham-South to power forward before Itoje surged over.

But their joy was shortlived because they cracked on New Zealand’s next attack, Ben Earl missing a tackle on Stephen Perofeta as part of a disjointed defensive line and a pass later Savea had scored.

With prop Joe Marler off the pitch due to injury and debutant Fin Baxter on in his place, England’s scrum was struggling and there were worrying signs as the All Blacks showed the confidence to run the ball from their 22.

The tourists were unable to make the most of their own possession, promising moments breaking down by mistimed runs and inaccurate passing.

But they finished the half with a Smith penalty to draw level at 10-10 and the chance to take the lead moments after the interval went begging when the Harlequins fly-half missed with an ugly attempt from the tee.

Redemption then came quickly for Smith, who ignited an attack with a delayed off-load to Cunningham-South and several phases of forward carries later he flung out a long pass for Feyi-Waboso to stroll in.

McKenzie was successful with a penalty as England began to suffer at the breakdown and although the visitors had taken an element of control of the game, New Zealand’s fly-half was able to grab another three points.

The All Blacks had the ball for much of the last 10 minutes yet they blundered when McKenzie allowed the shot clock to run down when lining up another penalty.

As a result, England had the opportunity to stage an overtime attack but the last-gasp attempt ended with yet another breakdown infringement.

The teams

New Zealand:  15 Stephen Perofeta, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Beauden Barrett

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Ollie Sleightholme

Referee:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Eric Gauzins (France)

Marcus Smith shines as England put 50 past Japan in Tokyo

England proved too strong for Japan in their mid-year international in Tokyo on Saturday as they sealed a 52-17 victory, with Marcus Smith leading the way with a fine individual performance.

As the scoreline suggests, England were full value for their win as they outscored their hosts by eight tries to two with Smith, Chandler Cunningham-South, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Alex Mitchell, Ben Earl, Harry Randall and Sam Underhill all crossing the whitewash for the visitors.

Smith added four conversions while Slade also succeeded with a couple of two-pointers off the kicking tee.

For the Brave Blossoms, Koga Nezuka and Samisoni Tua scored tries which were both converted by Rikiya Matsuda while Seungsin Lee slotted a penalty.

Despite a fine all-round performance from the Red Rose, their victory was soured somewhat when Charlie Ewels was sent off for a dangerous hit on Michael Leitch in the game’s latter stages. Ewels initially received a yellow card but it was upgraded to red upon review.

He became the nation’s first player to be sent off twice following his dismissal in his last international against Ireland two years ago.

A pleasing performance saw Steve Borthwick’s men pick up where they left off in the Six Nations by playing smart and ambitious rugby that was well executed, particularly close to the whitewash.

Smith was at the heart of the enterprise shown, justifying his selection ahead of Fin Smith by orchestrating play intelligently until he was replaced having been shown a yellow card in the 55th minute.

Tougher challenges lie ahead on tour in the form of two Tests against New Zealand, who will give Smith far less room to work his magic than an accommodating Japan defence, but the Harlequins fly-half pointed to a future that does not include George Ford and Owen Farrell.

Borthwick will have taken satisfaction from winning his personal duel with Eddie Jones, his former boss with England and Japan.

There was early evidence of the humidity that England had trained for as the ball squirted out of the hands of both sides, but Japan made the faster start that was rewarded with a penalty from fly-half Lee.

FULL TIME

A dominant win for England in Tokyo 🌹#JPNvENG pic.twitter.com/WctNNxQpQe

― England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 22, 2024

The tourists’ first meaningful attack produced a try, however, as a series of pick and goes underlined the greater carrying power of their forwards until the excellent Cunningham-South muscled over with help from Earl.

A slick line-out move that saw Jamie George find Ollie Lawrence with a long throw ended when Smith ghosted through the midfield to score and the Harlequin then turned provider with a long pass for Feyi-Waboso.

Smith was at the heart of England’s growing control of the game, also catching the eye with a 50-22, and pleasingly for Borthwick every visit to the 22 saw their lead increase.

His vision sent a leaping Slade over via a crossfield kick in another clinical finish and the second half was only two minutes old when Mitchell exploited a gap around the ruck to glide over.

Japan launched a rare attack that was foiled by an Underhill turnover and the home defence was then back in grave peril as Smith pinned them back with a kick that was followed by Feyi-Waboso and Dan Cole going close.

Earl succeeded soon after, helped by an offload from Mitchell who sucked in two tacklers, but England then had to regroup when Smith was sent to the sin-bin for an early tackle on Yoshitaka Yazaki.

Despite being a man down, scrum-half Randall darted over with ease and he was joined off the bench by Tom Curry, who was making his first Test appearance since the World Cup because of hip surgery.

The replacements streamed off England’s bench and Japan took advantage of the comings and goings to run in classy tries through Nezuka and Tua.

But there was one last try for Underhill as England finished with 14 men after Ewels’ dismissal.

The teams

Japan:  15 Yoshitaka Yazaki, 14 Jone Naikabula, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Tomoki Osada, 11 Koga Nezuka, 10 Seungsin Lee, 9 Naoto Saito, 8 Faulua Makisi, 7 Tiennan Costley, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Warner Dearns, 4 Sanaila Waqa, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Mamoru Harada, 1 Takayoshi Mohara
Replacements:  16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Shogo Miura, 18 Keijiro Tamefusa, 19 Amanaki Saumaki, 20 Kai Yamamoto, 21 Shinobu Fujiwara, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Samisoni Tua

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Tom Roebuck

Referee:  Luc Ramos (France)
Assistant Referees:  Eoghan Cross (Ireland), Angus Mabey (New Zealand)
TMO:  Eric Gauzins (France)

Thomas Ramos helps France edge England in seven-try Six Nations thriller

A late Thomas Ramos penalty helped France win a thrilling Six Nations clash with England 33-31 in a result that sees them finish the 2024 campaign in second spot.

With less than a minute remaining, the Les Bleus fly-half stepped up from the halfway line and succeeded in nudging his side into the lead before they saw out the game.

France had earlier scored tries via Nolann Le Garrec, Leo Barre and Gael Fickou, with Ramos finishing with 18 points off the tee, missing just one of his eight attempts.

While coming out on the losing side, England will take plenty from the game as their four tries were scored by Ollie Lawrence (2), Marcus Smith and Tommy Freeman.

Ireland may already have clinched the Six Nations title by toppling Scotland but if evidence was needed that this match still mattered it came when Ramos kicked off before the countdown had even begun.

Once the false start had been dealt with, England were greeted with waves of attacks and a challenging opening was compounded when George Furbank departed with a calf injury and was replaced by Smith.

George Ford drew first blood through a penalty and his side were successfully slowing down play to stem the blue tide but there was no stopping the stunning end to end move began by Fickou and finished by Le Garrec.

England were in danger of being swept aside as they scrambled furiously to stop a second long-range strike but a sizeable lead opened up when Ramos kicked his second penalty.

Wing Damian Penaud beat a host of tackles yet made no metres in a crabbing run but it resulted in another opportunity for Ramos and he found the posts once more.

England showed their mettle, however, when Lawrence ran through Fickou on the cusp of half-time for a vitally important try that reduced the interval deficit to 16-10.

And there was better to come as a sweeping move given impetus by big runs from Sam Underhill and Ben Earl ended with a second try for Lawrence.

In a remarkable turn of events, England were now breaking through the home defence at will as Underhill and Earl combined a second time to create the opening before Smith arrived to score.

France now found their second wind and when their opponents eventually ran out of bodies in defence, they crossed through Barre to make it a one-point game heading into the final quarter.

With control restored, the 2023 World Cup hosts conjured a third try by Fickou that was born out of Theo Dan’s line-out overthrow.

But there was yet another twist as England staged a well-constructed attack that led to an overlap, providing a simple run in for Freeman.

Yet, with the Test seemingly won, up stepped Ramos to decide otherwise.

The teams

France:  15 Leo Barre, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Nicolas Depoortere, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Gregory Alldritt (c), 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Sebastien Taofifenua, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Paul Boudehent, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Yoram Moefana

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ethan Roots, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Danny Care, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Manu Tuilagi

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Damian Schneider (Argentina)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Marcus Smith drop-goal denies Ireland another Six Nations Grand Slam

A last-ditch drop-goal from replacement Marcus Smith saw an impressive England stun Ireland 23-22 in an absorbing Six Nations clash at Twickenham on Saturday.

The shock result denies the Irish a shot at back-to-back Grand Slams as they came off second best to a much-improved performance from the Red Rose in front of their fans.

Tries from Ollie Lawrence, George Furbank and Ben Earl were added to by a conversion apiece for George Ford and Smith before the latter landed that late drop-goal for the win.

The Achilles heel of failing to capitalise on visits to the 22 appeared to be harming England once again and their 8-6 lead was a poor return for half an hour of dominance that produced just a single try for Lawrence.

But they were inspired in the closing stages, soaking up James Lowe’s 72nd-minute try that appeared to have snatched the win for Ireland and then striking through Smith amid a late do-or-die assault.

England dazzled from the start and their first try had Furbank’s influence stamped all over it as he launched the counter-attack and then helped flash the ball to Lawrence, who finished in the left corner.

The early score developed into a full-scale onslaught as inspired England poured forward, directed by Ford and with Earl, Ollie Chessum and full debutant Immanuel Feyi-Waboso making telling contributions.

Bundee Aki made ground with every carry as Ireland’s main weapon but he was swimming against the tide as the white shirts pressed again and a second Lawrence try was ruled out because of a knock-on.

The crippling handling errors and turnovers that led to Scotland retaining the Calcutta Cup in round three had vanished, replaced by players running hard on to flat passes and punching holes in the visiting defence.

Yet for all the hosts’ dominance, successive Jack Crowley penalties meant they trailed 9-8 and as Ireland produced their first sustained attack the fly-half landed a fourth shot from the tee.

England were guilty of inviting pressure when Ford missed a routine penalty and Furbank took the ball into touch, but when their line were breached for the first time in the 44th minute it was because of their opponents’ killer instinct by exploiting Henry Slade’s positioning in the blitz defence to conjure a try for Lowe.

Furbank hit back quickly by racing over in the left corner after slick approach work from his team-mates and suddenly the pendulum swung again.

Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony was sent to the sin-bin for hands in the ruck and England seized their chance, battering away at the green wall through route one until Earl forced his way over.

Smith replaced Ford and Danny Care came on for his 100th cap but the Harlequins fly-half was unable to stop Lowe with his despairing late tackle attempt as Ireland crept back in front.

Elliot Daly missed with a long-range penalty attempt but there was still time for England to conjure the Six Nations win, Smith splitting the posts after his team had battered away at the whitewash.

😱 THE DRAMA!#GuinnessM6N @EnglandRugby pic.twitter.com/tdA5i2EPDl

― Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 9, 2024

The teams

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Danny Care, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Elliot Daly

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Jack Conan, 22 Conor Murray, 23 Ciaran Frawley

Referee:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees:  Andrea Piardi (Italy), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Duhan van der Merwe fires Scotland to Calcutta Cup victory over England

A Duhan van der Merwe hat-trick helped Scotland keep their hands on the Calcutta Cup as they beat rivals England 30-21 in the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The powerful finisher scored twice against the Red Rose in last year’s match but went one better in 2024 as Scotland bounced back from the loss to France in Round Two.

England‘s two tries on the day came via George Furbank and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso as they suffer a first loss of this Six Nations campaign in a major dent to their title hopes.

Remarkably, the Red Rose have now won only one of the last seven meetings with Scotland.

Led into battle by courageous captain Jamie George just over a week after he lost his mother to cancer, England made a strong start.

Having forced the Scots back from the outset, the Red Rose got themselves ahead in the fifth minute when Northampton full-back Furbank ― making his first start in almost two years ― bounded over gleefully from close range after being played in by Elliot Daly at the end of a brilliant move.

Scotland suffered a further setback moments later when Zander Fagerson had to go off for an HIA, although the influential prop was able to return to the fray in the 18th minute.

By that point, England had opened up a 10-0 lead, with Ford kicking a penalty in the 15th minute.

Scotland had been in a state of disarray for most of the opening quarter, but they suddenly sparked into life and got themselves back into the game in the 20th minute.

Huw Jones made a dash for the line on the right and after being dragged to the ground, the centre flipped the ball up into the path of Van der Merwe, who produced a superb piece of skill to find a gap and bolt over.

The early wind had been removed from England’s sails and Van der Merwe edged the Scots in front on the half-hour mark with a breathtaking score from his own half.

As the visitors mounted an attack, Ford’s heavy pass bounced off the face of Furbank and into the hands of Jones, who instantly offloaded to Van der Merwe 60 metres out.

The wing put on the after-burners and raced clear up the left, leaving a trail of white jerseys in his slipstream. Finn Russell added the extras before stretching the hosts’ advantage to 17-10 with a penalty shortly afterwards.

England were wobbling, but Ford kept his cool to reduce their interval deficit to four points with an opportunist drop goal from 35 yards out.

Scotland suffered what appeared to be a blow within seconds of the second half kicking off when Sione Tuipulotu limped off to be replaced by Cam Redpath.

However, the substitute centre was instrumental in the hosts going further ahead in the 45th minute when he burst through a gap on the halfway line.

A ruck ensued as Redpath was halted in his tracks, and Russell produced one of his trademark cross-field kicks out to the left for Van der Merwe, who burst over for his hat-trick and his 26th try for Scotland.

Ford reduced the deficit to 24-16 with a penalty in the 50th minute, but Russell put the home side firmly back in command with a couple of penalties either side of the hour mark.

England ― having offered little since the opening quarter ― gave themselves a glimmer of hope in the 67th minute when replacement wing Feyi-Waboso bolted over on the left.

Fin Smith ― with the chance to bring his side within a converted try of victory ― hit the post with the conversion, leaving the Scots nine points ahead and able to see out the remainder of the match in relatively comfortable fashion.

Not even a yellow card in the closing moments for a tip tackle could take the shine off Van der Merwe’s day.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Andy Christie, 21 George Horne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Cameron Redpath

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 George Martin, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

England dig deep to edge Wales as they go two from two in Six Nations

A second-half try from Fraser Dingwall and George Ford’s late penalty helped England come from behind to edge Wales 16-14 in the Six Nations at Twickenham on Saturday.

It was far from a thrilling spectacle but the English got the job done in the end as they backed up last week’s win over Italy to make it two wins out of two thus far in 2024.

Ben Earl scored the hosts’ other try of the game while Wales had a penalty try and Alex Mann’s crossing on the board, with Ioan Lloyd kicking one conversion for the visitors.

For the first time in Six Nations history, Warren Gatland’s team led at the interval in their great rival’s stronghold after storming 14-5 ahead.

But the favourites hit back when Dingwall went over in the left corner before Ford stepped up to land the decisive penalty in the 72nd minute, rewarding a more polished second half.

Having finished third at last year’s World Cup, England saw their first outing at Twickenham since rebuilding their team as an opportunity to reconnect with fans, but this scruffy afternoon was too close for comfort.

Championship history was made when Hollie Davidson became the first female member of an officiating team for a men’s match ― and what the hosts would have given for her assured performance on the sideline.

Wales must come to terms with an eighth successive defeat at Twickenham dating back to 2015 and their inability to score a point in the second half, but despite the outcome there was enough on display to encourage Gatland.

From the moment Freddie Steward carved through the visiting defence in the opening seconds, it appeared as though Wales were in for a long afternoon.

Only timely intervention from Rio Dyer thwarted England in the right corner, Elliot Daly raced clear and a crash ball intended for Henry Slade close to the whitewash just failed to find its target as the the assault continued.

Yet for all the early dominance, points proved elusive and then the tide turned when Ollie Chessum was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle before a penalty try was awarded to Wales.

Ethan Roots was singled out by referee James Doleman for bringing down the maul and as a result was shown a yellow card, reducing England to 13 players for five minutes.

Remarkably, the hosts hit back immediately when Earl powered over from the base of a scrum, breaking four tackles before touching down with an outstretched arm.

A dramatic opening quarter ended with Ford failing to take the conversion when Wales chased down the kick, even though England’s fly-half had yet to start his run up.

Ford was bemused that Doleman found in the visitors’ favour and England then had to steel themselves for a lengthy period of defence, although there was a lack of cutting edge to really trouble them.

Daly and Slade kicked long to relieve the pressure on Steve Borthwick’s men, who were struggling to escape their half, but there was no stopping Wales when their attack clicked into gear on the cusp of half-time.

Josh Adams launched the move but the key moment came when the brilliant Tommy Reffell took an inside ball which he then slipped out of the tackle, allowing Tomos Williams to gather and send Mann over.

England emerged for the second half with greater purpose and Daly almost went over in the left corner, but soon after Ford landed a penalty.

A defensive lapse by Daly waved Wales through and they almost scored, but successive scrum penalties settled the home team, with the second providing the platform to engineer their second try.

Once the forwards had weakened the red wall with carry after carry, the ball was swept left where an unmarked Dingwall was able to cross.

And the tide turned when Mason Grady was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on and up stepped Ford to kick England ahead for the first time, consigning Wales to defeat.

The teams

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Danny Care, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

Wales:  15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements:  16 Ryan Elias, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Cai Evans, 23 Mason Grady

Referee:  James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO:  Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

England dig deep as new cap shines in come-from-behind Six Nations win

A second-half try from Alex Mitchell helped England come from behind to defeat Italy 27-24 and start their Six Nations campaign on a positive note in Rome on Saturday.

England were trailing 17-14 at the break after an impressive opening stanza from the Azzurri, who were playing their first game under new head coach Gonzalo Quesada.

But Mitchell’s try and the boot of George Ford eased Steve Borthwick’s men to the win, with Elliot Daly having crossed in the first half while Ethan Roots proved a handful.

Alessandro Garbisi, Tommaso Allan and Monty Ioane scored the hosts’ tries, with Allan and Paolo Garbisi kicking extras, as the Azzurri‘s drought against England continues.

New Zealand-born blindside flanker Roots was named Player of the Match in Rome after shining on his England Test debut with a rugged performance in the six jersey.

As promised by new captain Jamie George, the favourites played with greater freedom, and there was less kicking than in the first year of Borthwick’s reign, at least until the focus switched to grinding Italy down in the final half-hour.

But overall, the more exciting rugby was played by the Azzurri, who showed ingenuity and ambition in their pursuit of a maiden victory against their rivals, and their second try scored by Allan was a beauty.

New caps Roots, Fraser Dingwall, Fin Smith, Chandler Cunningham-South and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, brought a freshness to England, who ended their four-year stretch of beginning the Six Nations with a defeat, but the initial outlook was far less rosy.

They lost replacement prop Ellis Genge to a foot injury shortly before kick-off, and that was only the start of their problems as early enterprise from Italy engineered a try for Alessandro Garbisi.

It rewarded their brighter start and came when Lorenzo Cannone was sent through a gap, with Garbisi able to scoop up the offload.

With Allan and Ford exchanging penalties, the score read 10-3, but the deficit provided the jolt England needed as Freeman glided into space and delivered the scoring pass to Daly.

The try had been coming, but it was quickly overshadowed by a stunning riposte from Italy, whose precise passing and clever running off set-piece ball was executed beautifully for Allan to score.

Two penalties by Ford kept England snapping at the Azzurri’s heels at half-time, and they needed to regroup quickly, particularly in defence, to spare themselves an unwanted slice of history.

Reassurance came when Mitchell jinked and spun his way over the whitewash in the 45th minute, and for the first time, the visitors led.

Italy’s play now lacked its earlier precision, and they were pinned deep in their own half as England tightened the screw with Ford landing successive penalties to propel them 10 points ahead.

Handling errors cost the Azzurri time and again, and their line-out continued to malfunction in an exasperating period for the hosts that also saw Allan miss an important penalty.

Daly was sent to the sin-bin for a trip as Italy hunted the try that would haul them back into contention, but they were unable to produce any more magic as the upset slipped from their fingertips despite a last-gasp Monty Ioane touch down.

The teams

Italy:  15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Lorenzo Pani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Alessandro Izekor, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Federico Mori

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Danny Care, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

Referee:  Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

England hang on against Argentina to claim bronze at Rugby World Cup

England ended their 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign on a positive note as they edged out Argentina 26-23 to win the Bronze Final in Paris on Friday.

Tries from Ben Earl and Theo Dan were added to by 16 points from captain Owen Farrell off the tee as the Red Rose signed off in France with a victory.

Argentina will no doubt be reeling after coming so close, however, as they dominated the majority of the game but could not get the job done late on.

England have now finished in the World Cup’s top three on five occasions, with only Saturday’s finalists, New Zealand and South Africa managing more podium appearances.

Argentina were roared on by the neutrals in a 77,674 crowd, and with only pockets of Red Rose supporters present, it was the most partisan atmosphere Steve Borthwick’s side have faced at the World Cup.

Farrell was booed repeatedly, and Ben Youngs drew the same reaction when he jogged off with half an hour left, even though the nation’s most capped player was making his 127th and final appearance.

The evening was not much fun for Henry Arundell, who ran in five tries against Chile yet was passed the ball only once here, reducing one of England’s most dangerous runners to the role of bystander until he was withdrawn with 15 minutes left.

Having produced among the worst semi-final appearances in World Cup history against New Zealand, Argentina were far hungrier as they looked to emulate their previous best tournament performance of third place in 2007.

It was the Pumas side who edged Wales in the last eight that ultimately turned up at the Stade de France, although it took them time to get going.

England initially picked up where they had left off in Marseille by scoring freely, a short pass from Marcus Smith slipping Earl through a gap, and there was no stopping the number eight from 15 metres out.

It was part of a bright start by England, who kicked intelligently and were accurate in everything they did, enabling them to build a 13-0 lead when Farrell added two penalties.

Argentina were already on the ropes, but they took heart from making headway through the white defence until they were sent hurtling backwards at a scrum in front of the posts.

Emiliano Boffelli got the Pumas off the mark with a penalty, but it was all they had to show for period of ascendency, their prospects not helped by two knock-ons at key times.

England’s own play had become more ragged, and when Farrell kicked away possession and a penalty was conceded, Argentina went on the rampage with a sweeping attack that ended when Tomas Cubelli went over.

The officials declined to check for an obvious forward pass during the move, but there was nothing controversial about the Pumas’ second try when Dan missed a tackle that allowed Santiago Carreras to glide into space and finish with class.

Dan’s redemption was instant as from the restart, he changed down Carreras’ clearance, gathered the ball and scored.

Finishing his #RWC2023 in style

Sam Underhill is the @Mastercard #POTM #ARGvENG | #Priceless pic.twitter.com/ivT39ISYcQ

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 27, 2023

As chants of “Argentina, Argentina” sounded around the Stade de France and the Pumas vigorously celebrated winning a penalty, there was a sense of occasion of the match even if the play was stop-start and often ugly.

Farrell and Nicolas Sanchez traded penalties, and with neither side able to seize control of the game, an edgy climax approached.

Sanchez missed a tricky penalty, and England were not troubled again, closing out the match in the right half of the pitch.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni

England:  15 Marcus Smith, 14 Freddie Steward, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Dan Cole, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Springboks fight back to knock out England and seal World Cup final spot

The Springboks made it to back-to-back Rugby World Cup Finals after they edged England 16-15 in a wet-weather semi-final in Paris on Saturday.

It had looked for a long time like South Africa’s reign was coming to a surprise end when the Red Rose led 15-6 with only 12 minutes left on the match clock.

But a try from replacement lock RG Snyman was converted by Handre Pollard before the fly-half struck a long-range penalty on 77 minutes to seal the win.

England’s players sank to their knees at the final whistle, their hearts broken having given their all in a rematch of the 2019 final despite being distant outsiders, and it was an especially cruel moment for Owen Farrell given his outstanding night.

Farrell was at the heart of many of his side’s best moments and although the captain drew the now customary boos when his name was read out on the PA system pre-match, he replied by drawing first blood with a penalty.

Breakdown and line-out success, as well as Ben Earl blasting off the base of the scrum, were further early wins until a promising drive downfield ended with Farrell kicking his second penalty.

Three times in a row England turned over South African line-out drives, winning a penalty on the third of them to relieve the pressure that was building on their line.

Every aspect of an arm wrestle of a contest was being won by England, but they were also their own worst enemies as they gave away three needless penalties, one of them for a moment of petulance from Farrell that allowed Manie Libbok to land three points.

His eyes bulging, Farrell was playing on the edge and had to be escorted away from referee Ben O’Keeffe, but he regained his composure to re-establish the six-point lead.

Libbok became the fall guy for South Africa’s woes when he was replaced in the 32nd minute by Pollard in the hope the 2019 World Cup winner would bring greater control.

Pollard’s first involvement was to boot a penalty and growing tension was evident as errors crept into both sides, but when Farrell found the target for the fourth time, England entered the break with a deserved 12-6 lead.

Rookie Leicester lock George Martin had been at the forefront of red rose resistance through his savage tackling and as the rain continued to fall there was no prospect of the game opening up.

Scrum-half Cobus Reinach and full-back Damian Willemse were the next to be pulled by South Africa, who now had Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux on the field, and then Eben Etzebeth followed them into the dugout.

The changes were a reflection of England’s control and just as the Springboks appeared to be clawing their way into contention, Farrell rifled over a sensational drop-goal.

England’s captain was striking gold with every touch as a wicked cross-field grubber caused Kurt-Lee Arendse to fumble, but South Africa were beginning to harvest penalties at the scrum.

Suddenly the Springboks went up a gear, their pack pouring forwards from a line-out for Snyman to score.

It was now all South Africa, who had discovered a new lease of life, and when the moment for glory came, Pollard stepped up to deliver his monster penalty.

Bokke joy 🇿🇦#ENGvRSA | #RWC2023 | #RWCFinal pic.twitter.com/DR4kTfOQOk

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 21, 2023

The teams

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Jonny May, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence

South Africa:  15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:  16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO:  Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

Owen Farrell drop goal helps England edge fantastic Fiji in quarter-final

A late drop goal and penalty from Owen Farrell helped England edge a superb Fiji side on Sunday, winning 30-24 to seal a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot.

Fiji threw everything they could at the English in a game that ran until the 86th minute, but the Red Rose held on to claim a tense quarter-final win in Marseille.

England enjoyed a positive first half as tries from centres Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant were added to by Farrell’s boot as they jogged in 21-10 in the lead.

However, Fiji fought their way back into the match and were level at one stage thanks to tries from Bill Mata, Peni Ravai and Vilimoni Botitu in a tough loss.

England are the only home union side to reach the last four following the demise of Wales and Ireland in this weekend’s quarter-finals but they rode their luck at times during a frenzied second half having played smart rugby before the interval.

The result avenged their first ever loss to Fiji in August and by reaching the penultimate stage of the World Cup they have surpassed expectations given they entered the tournament on the back of five defeats in six Tests.

There was no sign of the fireworks to come as England surged ahead, capitalising on their opponents’ indiscipline to score three points through Farrell before a second penalty produced a line-out drive that ended with Tuilagi diving over in the left corner.

Roared on by fans, Marcus Smith ran from deep but was swallowed up by the Islanders and the drama continued with Maro Itoje intercepting and racing into space before Tom Curry made a dangerously low tackle on Josua Tuisova.

Curry’s offence allowed Frank Lomani to kick three points but England replied with waves of attacks and their tempo stretched Fiji’s defence, allowing Marchant to jink over.

Fiji wing Vinaya Habosi was sent to the sin-bin for a high hit on Smith, who departed for an HIA, but his side were the next over in a breathless first half when Mata scooped up a loose ball, dummied and strolled over.

Itoje and Courtney Lawes were battered as the Islanders made their presence felt in defence but England continued to force penalties that allowed Farrell to land six more points.

Fiji infringed freely as their opponents racked up time in possession, but two wayward Farrell kicks after he had fired a smart chip into space provided a route out of difficulty and they started moving the ball with menace until Lawes turned them over.

The second half was more ragged and England’s play was frantic at times, lacking the control evident earlier, but the scoreboard kept ticking over as Farrell extended their lead to 14 points.

Fiji lost the ball time and again, preventing them from building any momentum, but they faced a muscular defence.

Finally they broke through, Ravai concluding a sustained assault and when the conversion was added, the deficit was down to a converted try.

The tide had turned and when a Simione Kuruvoli penalty struck the upright, it fell to Fiji and they pounded away at the favourites until Isoa Nasilasila forced a gap and Botitu touched down.

🎯 Clutch drop goal from Owen Farrell.#RWC2023 #ENGvFIJ pic.twitter.com/EuBTDOUPxe

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 15, 2023

Farrell replied with his drop-goal and when Earl broke clear to relieve the pressure of a Fiji attack, sprinting 60 metres downfield, a penalty was forced that Farrell rifled over.

The Islanders fell short with one final attack and when the full-time whistle sounded they collapsed to the floor in disappointment.

The teams

England:  15 Marcus Smith, 14 Jonny May, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Martin, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Fiji:  15 Ilasaia Droasese, 14 Vinaya Habosi, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Semi Radradra, 10 Vilimoni Botitu, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Levani Botia, 6 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 5 Albert Tuisue, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Luke Tagi, 2 Tavita Ikanivere, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements:  16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Meli Derenalagi, 20 Vilive Miramira, 21 Simione Kuruvoli, 22 Iosefo Masi, 23 Sireli Maqala

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)