The Observer - 25.08.2019

• The Observer
  16 25.08.19 Rugby union

World Cup warm-up

Cokanasiga helps

eight-try England

sizzle in the heat

Ireland suffered burn-out in the

warm-up. They faded in the heat as

England scored a record number of

points in the fi xture and exceeded

by two their previous highest win-

ning margin. It was only 10 months

ago that the Irish, having beaten

New Zealand for the second time in

two years, were being heralded as

Europe’s leading contenders in the

World Cup, but now they cannot look

beyond fi nishing at the top of a group

that includes the hosts and Scotland.

England were close to full strength

for the fi rst time this month and their

formation showed the selection fl ux

of the previous 18 months. There

were only six starters from Ireland’s

previous visit here, at the end of the

2018 Six Nations, and none of the

three backs who remained was start-

ing in the same position, including

Owen Farrell who that day had been

redeployed at fl y-half following two

straight defeats.

England have been unfavoura-

bly compared to the 2003 World Cup

winners but what other side in Japan

will measure up to Martin Johnson’s

team? Even New Zealand have a whiff

of vulnerability, a team that looks sus-

pect in some positions and short of

cover in others. There is no exemplar

in a tournament that will be about

seizing the moment and England,

Paul Rees

Twickenham

57

ENGLAND

15

IRELAND

Ireland look anything but the

No 1 side in the world as they

suffer worrying injuries

against their ruthless hosts

14

George Ford

and Owen

Farrell

started a Test

together for

the fi rst time

in 14 months

as England

fi elded a twin

playmaking

attack.

3

England

rise to

third in the

world rugby

rankings,

leapfrogging

Ireland and

South Africa

after beating

the Irish by

a marg in

greater than

15 points.

Wales remain

at No 1 and

New Zealand

are at No 2.

8

England ran

in eight tries

in their record

57-15 rout of

Ireland. It was

England’s

highest score

and biggest

margin of

victory over

Ireland.

Match

numbers

Tuilagi makes up

for lost time with

his outside break

It may seem strange to single out
one player after such an imperious
England performance across the
board but Manu Tuilagi is someone
worth making an exception for.
There have been countless days
over the past fi ve years when a
performance such as this seemed
beyond the realms of possibility.
Just this week he laid bare the extent
of his injury struggles and how
hiding one of them cost him more
than a year of his career. Suffi ce
it to say it is good to see him back
and fi ring like this.
Granted, this was his ninth
straight appearance for England
but we have seen his power, his
pace and his poise only in glimpses.
That can no longer be considered
the case. He was not alone but he
typifi ed England’s intensity, their
ability to burst over the gainline and
such is the obvious joy Tuilagi takes
from playing international rugby
that it must be infectious.
For Tuilagi (celebrating his try
below) loves playing for England,
all the more so against Ireland, and
it was eight years ago that he ran
amok in Dublin when winning only
his second cap, rubber-stamping his
place at the 2011 World Cup aged
only 20.
In February this year, Tuilagi
made his fi rst England start in fi ve
years and made a considerable
impact after less than two minutes,
taking Jamie George’s over-the-top
lineout and thundering into the
Ireland defence.
Yesterday, Ross Byrne acquitted
himself well on his fi rst Test start
but he may live to regret directing
his kick-off at Tuilagi, who fi elded it
and rampaged into his opponents.
Eddie Jones is these days non-
committal when asked whether
Tuilagi is better suited to playing
at No 12 or No 13. He started four
of fi ve Six Nations matches at
inside-centre but on this evidence
it seems hard to argue that he is
not better suited to playing one
out with that extra yard of space.
Not least when he has George Ford
and Owen Farrell inside him and
surely this will not be the last time
Jones deploys this trio in midfi eld
from the start.
Ireland were given a warning of
Tuilagi’s threat and how Ford and
Farrell might combine to release
him early on. He could not quite

wriggle free the fi rst time but did so

the second and from there England

embarked on a series of phases that

led to Elliot Daly’s try. Just before

it, Tuilagi left a huge dent in the

Ireland defence, creating the space

for Daly to fi nish on the right. For

his own score, he burst through a

gap with the kind of acceleration he

was showcasing eight years ago.

He ended the fi rst half with seven

defenders beaten – equalling his

best ever for a whole match, which

was against Romania in 2011 – and

after the break hit Jordan Larmour

so hard that the Twickenham

groundsman will be picking bits of

the Ireland wing off the turf for the

next few weeks.

Soon after he tracked Jacob

Stockdale down the left and bundled

him into touch. He was also in the

thick of things for Joe Cokanasiga’s

second try, running a perfect decoy

line after Ford and Farrell had

combined. He does not even have to

touch the ball to leave his imprint.

Ben Youngs knows Tuilagi better

than most, having come through

the Leicester academy with him.

On Friday he said he had never seen

Tuilagi in better physical shape

but perhaps more signifi cantly,

spoke of what a good place he was

in mentally and perhaps the best

thing that can be said about Tuilagi

is that it is no longer necessary to

hold one’s breath whenever he gets

the ball and sets off towards a wall

of defenders, as was the case not so

long ago. We often hear about how

popular Tuilagi is off the pitch, how

he rules the pool table and makes

everyone coffee and seeing him in

this kind of form is sure to rub off

on his team-mates. “He’s in a good

place, he’s got a smile on his face,

he’s getting fi tter,” said Jones.

“He’s about 80 per cent fi t, when

he gets there he will be a handful.

One of his best assets is that people

like to play with him.”

Throughout his tenure, Jones has

never liked answering questions

about players absent from his

squad. The mere utterance of Danny

Cipriani has often been met with a

quiet fury and more recently it has

been Ben Te’o off limits. Over the

years he has always had time to talk

about Tuilagi, however. Now we

know why.

Playing at No 13 the

Leicester centre is a

revelation alongside

his captain, writes

Gerard Meagher

Such is the

joy he takes

from playing

international

rugby it must be

infectious

against th