The Observer - 25.08.2019

The Observer

25.08.19 17

who can no longer be pigeon-holed
tactically, look as equipped as anyone.
They have Maro Itoje, a second row
with the instinct of a New Zealand for-
ward whose try four minutes into the
second period, picking up on Ireland’s
22 and stepping between two props
before accelerating, showed how his
game is evolving. He started by forc-
ing a turnover and tracked the ball
as if by radar, the centre of England’s
effort. And there was Manu Tuilagi,
back at 13 whose threat is the same
with or without the ball, a magnet for
defenders.
England led 22-10 at half-time.
Their three tries came on the right
wing with Tuilagi involved each time.
The fi rst, scored by Joe Cokanasiga
from a scrum in Ireland’s 22, was the
result of Tuilagi being used as a decoy.
He sucked in three tacklers to leave
the home side’s right wing unguarded
which Elliot Daly exploited with a
long pass.
Jacob Stockdale had been drawn
infi eld by Tuilagi, as the left wing was
for the other two tries. It was Tuilagi’s
burst that set up the second with Daly
this time the benefi ciary after Itoje,
Billy Vunipola and Kyle Sinckler had
softened up a defence that in the
opening period missed nearly one-
quarter of its first-up tackles and
was no more solid after the break.
Tuilagi helped himself to the third
as Stockdale again, with
Conor Murray receiving
treatment, planted
himself in a defensive
no-man’s land.
Stockdale created

Ireland’s try which gave them the lead

after eight minutes following Farrell’s

early penalty. The wing’s kick to the

line bounced awkwardly for Tuilagi

and Jordan Larmour followed up to

score, but under pressure up front

and unusually wasteful in the line-

out, Ireland buckled as England were

both unrelentingly physical and adept

at creating space.

England have replicated the likely

heat in Japan in training and here,

with the temperature in the 80s, they

were able to play at a sustained pace.

The decision to resuscitate the mid-

fi eld axis of George Ford and Farrell

gave England the breath of continuity,

complementing the two open-side

fl ankers in the back row, Tom Curry

and Sam Underhill, who combined

for England’s sixth try on 56 min-

utes that underlined the difference

between the sides.

Ireland are most comforta-

ble dictating the pace of a game by

dominating possession. They were

without the injured Jonathan Sexton

and Murray sat out the second half

but no part of their game functioned

smoothly. Jones has long anticipated

that pace and width will be require-

ments in Japan, but not at the expense

of the set pieces. Ireland started with

a few off-loads but they lacked even

a semblance of control.

Their afternoon was summed up

at the end when they had a lineout

fi ve metres from their own line. They

had lost four of their previous throws

and they did again as Itoje squeezed

Peter O’Mahony. Sean Cronin’s throw

went over the outstretched arms of

the fl anker and was caught by Luke

Cowan-Dickie, who earlier this month

had accepted a similar opportunity

here against Wales.

Bundee Aki had four minutes

before provided Ireland with the

scantest of consolation, creating

space for himself before evading

Daly’s tackle on the right wing, but

England had by then reached the half-

century of points against Ireland for

only the second time.

Tuilagi was again used as a midfi eld

decoy, creating space for Cokanasiga

who came off the right wing into mid-

fi eld from a lineout and was found

by Farrell.

The one concern for England was

Mako Vunipola’s failure to last the

course when he replaced Joe Marler

on the hour. The prop, making his

first appearance since suffering a

hamstring injury in the Champions

Cup fi nal last May, lasted 16 minutes

before feeling a twinge, but Ireland’s

problems were considerably greater.

Daly; Cokanasiga; Tuilagi

(Marchant 70), Farrell

(capt; Francis 67), May;

Ford, Youngs (Heinz 53);

Marler (M Vunipola 61-

77), George (Cowan-Dickie

53), Sinckler (Cole 59),

Itoje, Kruis, Curry (Lawes

57), Underhill (Wilson 57)

B Vunipola Sin-bin Kruis

79 Tries Cokanasiga 2,

Daly, Tuilagi, Itoje, Kruis,

Curry, Cowan-Dickie Cons

Farrell 6 Ford Pen Farrell

R Kearney (Conway 63);

Larmour, Ringrose, Aki,

Stockdale; Byrne (Carty

53), Murray (L McGrath

h-t); Healy (J McGrath 39),

Best (capt; Cronin 53)

Furlong (Porter 53),

Henderson (Beirne 60),

Kleyn (Toner 53),

O’Mahony, van der Flier,

Stander Tries Larmour, Aki

Con Byrne Pen Byrne

England Ireland

Referee Nigel Owens (Wales) Attendance 81,360

Conor Murray adds to Ireland’s

injury concerns after leaving the pitch

during the fi rst half at Twickenham

Crumbling

Ireland left

with injury

headaches

No world No 1 ranking for Ireland

this week, unless the measurement

is injury concerns. With two

warm-up games against Wales

still to come they are currently

down to their third-choice fl y-half,

saw their experienced loose head

prop Cian Healy hobble off with a

painful-looking sprain to his right

ankle and were briefl y in danger

of losing their kingpin scrum-half

Conor Murray as well.

Never mind the embarrassingly

lop sided scoreline and the missed

opportunity it represented in terms

of curtailing Wales’s stay at the top

of World Rugby’s offi cial pecking

order. Seeing Murray prone on

the turf, felled by a non-penalised

leading elbow to the jaw from Jonny

May, was absolutely Ireland’s worst-

case scenario with the World Cup

just around the corner, particularly

with Johnny Sexton and Joey

Carbery already sidelined. A couple

of minor knocks will always be

par for the course; losing three key

tactical cogs for their vital early pool

games in Japan would be the most

grievous of blows.

The gale of visiting relief when

Murray returned to the fi eld

shortly before half-time after his

compulsory head injury assessment

was arguably Ireland’s best moment

of a chastening south-west London

afternoon. It was only temporary:

by the time the players re-emerged

after the interval Murray had

vanished again. A precautionary

measure, maybe, but Joe Schmidt’s

painstaking World Cup plans are

already being sorely tested.

Sexton has not played since

damaging a thumb in training

in June and, it now emerges, has

subsequently picked up a leg injury

behind closed doors which the

Ireland camp has chosen not to

publicise. The word is he remains

hopeful of being fi t for his country’s

fi nal warm-up against Wales next

month but the 33-year-old is likely

to head to Japan with, at best,

limited recent match practice.

That might not matter if Carbery

had not suffered an ankle ligament

injury against Italy which continues

to threaten his participation. Ross

Byrne and Jack Carty, the two

outside-halves on duty here, are

both good players but, prior to

this weekend, boasted just six Test

points between them. And now

Murray’s misfortune. Even if both

he and Healy heal swiftly, it is all far

from ideal.

From Schmidt’s perspective this

was also a million miles from the

defensive performance he demands.

Jordan Larmour’s conspicuous

failure– not that many would have

fancied it – to halt the try-scoring

charge of big Joe Cokanasiga

Robert Kitson

Twickenham

England’s record in 2019

W 2 Feb Ireland a 32-20 Six Nations

W 10 Feb France h 44-8 Six Nations

L 23 Feb Wales a 13-21 Six Nations

W 9 Mar Italy h 57-14 Six Nations

D 16 Mar Scotland h 38-38 Six Nations

W 2 May Barbarians h 51-43 International

W 11 Aug Wales h 33-19 WC warm up

L 17 Aug Wales a 6-13 WC warm up

W 24 Aug Ireland h 57-15 WC warm up

Final World Cup warm up fixture

6 Sept Italy St James’ Park

First Pool C match in Japan

22 Sept To n g a Sapporo 11.15am

Red Rose on a roll

was just one of 21 missed Irish

tackles in the fi rst half alone. Manu

Tuilagi and Maro Itoje are similarly

awkward to stop but both crossed

the Irish line with relative ease.

There was precious little sign of an

Irish backstop, put it that way.

The sight of a confi dent-looking

England pulling away to a free-

wheeling half-century, even fi nding

time to put Cokanasiga into a

line out, merely compounded the

pain. The invincibles of 20 18 have

been left with plenty to ponder,

though no doubts hang over Jacob

Stockdale, their world-class winger.

The Ulsterman has longer hair these

days – he appears to be channeling

his inner Shane Horgan – but poses

the same deadly threat whenever

he chips ahead with his left boot.

The only other difference this time

was the identity of the try-scorer, a

bounce eluding everyone and falling

perfectly for Larmour to score.

Precious little, save for Bundee

Aki’s 73rd-minute try, went right

for Ireland thereafter. The margin

of victory means England overtake

them in the world rankings and, on

this evidence, just one of these two

sides has any chance of lifting the

Webb Ellis Cup. Only if Schmidt is

trying to douse expectations was

this a green day to remember.

Maro Itoje fi nds a

yawning gap in Ireland’s

defence to cap off an

outstanding display

with a second-half try

WARREN LITTLE/GETTY IMAGES

England’s Joe

Cokanasiga

on a charge

to the tryline

Springbok Dyantyi

fails drugs test

South Africa’s winger,

Aphiwe Dyantyi, has tested

positive for an unspecifi ed

banned substance but denies

wrongdoing and has requested

his B sample to be analysed. The

2018 World Rugby Breakthrough

Player of the Year tested positive

during a Springbok training

camp last month and said he

was determined to clear his

name. “I want to deny ever

taking any prohibited substance,

intentionally or negligently, to

enhance my performance on

the fi eld. I believe in hard work

and fair play,” Dyantyi said in a

statement. “I have never cheated

and never will. The presence

of this prohibited substance in

my body has come as a massive

shock to me .” Reuters