Autumn International Review - England 28 - 9 Samoa

Anyone who has the misfortune or the lack of social life required to regularly read my blog will know that I am pretty hit and miss with my predictions.  Last Six Nations, I exactly predicted three of the score differences in England’s games.  Did I put money on it?  Of course I bloody didn’t, because I’m an idiot.  What did I put money on?  Bath and Leicester drawing in their fixture earlier on this season.  The West Country side snuck past their rivals 45 – 0.  Not quite a draw, was it?

But one thing I could predict with some certainty as England trotted out on Saturday in their new money-making red strip to face the Samoans at Twickenham, was that there would be a few sore bodies on the Sunday.  Playing the Pacific Islanders, even when they are in a political struggle with their management and when you’re blooding a 21 year old at fly half, is never a comfortable experience.

Despite England’s different appearance, the opening exchanges were nothing new as England attempted to set a frantic pace – but, like the week before against the Springboks, they were let down by lateral running and some disappointing handling.  Of course, those problems are made all the more acute when you have a blue wall of pure Samoan muscle heading your way, but some poor kicking from Owen Farrell and indiscipline at the breakdown by the eager-to-impress James Haskell led to the visitors knocking over the first points of the day via the boot of Tusi Pisi.

That seemed to be the wake-up call that hosts needed and they began to tighten up the game, popping passes out of the point of contact before the likes of Filo Paulo and/or Kane Thompson could disrupt the possession with a chunky shoulder...although George Ford and Anthony Watson both felt the full force of Test Match Rugby on more than one occasion.  Ford, though, seemed unruffled as he stroked England level with a well struck penalty before he played a decisive role in the build up to the first try – running a loop off Farrell (with Barritt running a not-unsubstantial blocking line) to feed Mike Brown, who fed a suspiciously forward inside pass to Johnny May.  The Gloucester winger looks like a man reborn since his wonder try against the All Blacks, and he kicked on the afterburners to scorch through a gap in the Samoan defence and touch down by the sticks.  Ford’s conversion took the score to 10 points to 3, before exchanging penalties with Pisi once more.

The problem for England is still, worryingly, a lack of accuracy when the opportunities open up however.  And this came to the fore once again as Ford, who had kicked for territory with great intelligence and accuracy when game had become too loose for England’s liking, scythed through a gap on a diagonal run before looking to feed Brown,  The Quins full-back was, however, running too lateral to cause a threat and spilt the ball forwards in a manner that caused flashbacks to ‘that’ chance against the All Blacks.

It left the score at 13 – 6 at half-time and, although England had dominated the set piece, territory and possession, they were once again being too lateral and too inaccurate in damp conditions.  The start of the second period saw an immediate improvement, though, with the forwards beginning to rumble nicely and, following another maul, Ford arrowed a perfect cross-field kick to Watson, who stepped inside and unselfishly fed Brown for the try.  20 – 6, after Ford’s conversion, seemed like a much more satisfying scoreline and, despite a Pisi penalty for a brainless Farrell infringement, it looked as if it would get even better when Johnny Leota levelled Ford with a fantastic hit which was harshly adjudged to be dangerous by Jaco Peyper – who brandished a yellow card to the centre.  Ben Youngs had looked reliable and sharp at 9, but this pass was a tad on the hospital side, allowing Leota to time his run and smash to perfection, and the impact looked to be in the upper-chest.  Ford, to his credit, jumped straight back onto his feet with a wry smile on his face before – presumably – thanking a sheepish Youngs for his kind service and knocking over three points.

England immediately took advantage of the extra man though, with a rolling maul creating space out wide where quick hands from Dave Attwood and Joe Marler, of all people, opened up acres of room for Johnny May to slide in at the corner.  Ford couldn’t add the extras, but now there was a real feeling that – finally – the men in red might cut loose, but it wasn’t to be, as they took their foot off the pedal and inaccuracies crept their way back into the game.  Both sides had their chances to score, with Leota being denied by a superb cover tackle by Billy Twelvetrees, Marlande Yarde butchering a 2-on-1 deep in his own half and Dave Attwood spilling the ball with the line at his mercy after another Ford break. 

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a win.  We can talk about whether the positives – the performance of the half backs and the set piece in particular – outweigh the negatives, with Farrell’s unconvincing display at 12 and James Haskell’s surprising anonymity springing to mind, but at the end of the day that ‘W’ is all that really matters.  And all that will matter when the Wallabies come to town next weekend.

NB Great to see the English players show their unity with their Samoan counterparts at the end of the game, huddling together in a show of support in the Islanders’ ongoing dispute with their rugby union.  Hopefully it all gets resolved soon.

 

England Player Ratings

Mike Brown – 6 – A solid display, popping up for a score and helping to set one up, but some uncharacteristically poor handling and lateral running let him down.

Anthony Watson – 7 – He actually saw the ball this week which is always a bonus.  Made some strong surges with the ball in hand and was unselfish and aware in setting up Brown’s try.

Brad Barritt – 5 – 100% commitment and strong defence as ever, but when your 13’s most notable attacking contribution is a good dummy line, you have to question what they have to offer.

Owen Farrell – 5 – A bit of a mixed bag.  Some decent hands were involved in setting up May’s second and no doubt his tall helped Ford ‘bed in’, but his defence and discipline was sloppy at times.

Johnny May – 8 – Looking more and more at home on the international scene.  Showed a real nose for the line with the first finish as well as the customary blistering pace.

George Ford – 8 – An excellent starting debut.  His decision making was good, kicking reliable and he looked lively throughout.  Also showed that he’s a tough cookie after getting up from a couple of monster hits.

Ben Youngs – 7 – One hospital pass aside, he gave Ford a smooth ride with some slick service (with that “2-step” notable by its absence) and accurate box-kicking.  No sniping of note, though.

Joe Marler – 7 – Had the upper hand in the scrum and carried plenty as well, but it was his handling in the build up to the third try that really impressed.

Rob Webber – 7 – Worked his socks off around the park and – importantly – ran a near-perfect line-out.  Has done enough to keep his place ahead of Hartley next week.

Dave Wilson – 7 – Another strong performance in the set piece and, although his handling occasionally lets him down, he does make some handy metres in the tight.

Dave Attwood – 7 – A disappointing penalty off a maul in the first half couldn’t overshadow another industrious display by Attwood, who provided physical muscularity throughout.

Courtney Lawes – 6 – Not at his most conspicuous, by any means.  Some decent carries but we didn’t really seem him impose himself in defence.

James Haskell – 6 – Recovered well after conceding a couple of silly penalties early on.  One cover tackle in particular demonstrated his work-rate but it wasn’t perhaps the eye-catching display he would have wanted.

Chris Robshaw – 8 – Another fine display from the England skipper, carrying the ball and acting as a link man, but it was his defence that really impressed, making 20 tackles in a tireless performance.

Ben Morgan – 6 – Like Haskell, perhaps it wasn’t the all-action display he was looking for but nonetheless he still made some big metres with the ball in hand.

Subs – 6 – Some positives for sure, with George Kruis impressing once again and Billy Twelvetrees coming in with a superb cover tackle to save a try.  Kieran Brookes provided plenty of impact again, whilst Yarde made some good runs but butchered a golden opportunity late on.

 

Samoa Player Ratings

Ken Pisi – 7 – Samoa’s most dangerous back, he ran for far more metres than anyone else (on either side) and was a threat on the kick return all evening.  A little shaky under the high ball though and missed some tackles.

Alapati Leiua – 6 – What a shame he could not get more involved.  Showed his power with his few touches but struggled to find any real space.

Ray Lee-Lo – 5 – Couldn’t create a whole lot of go-forward in attack but weighed in with a couple of solid hits in defence.

Johnny Leota – 6 – I thought he was really unlucky with his yellow card.  He was a brutal presence in the tackle area but he wasn’t seen too much with the ball in hand.

David Lemi – 6 – Probably saw the ball more than any other back but couldn’t unlock too many opportunities, even with his dancing feet.  Probably out of position for Brown’s score, too.

Tusi Pisi – 7 – He was reliable with the boot and varied his game intelligently, although some of his kicking from hand was a little wayward.

Kahn Fotuali’i – 6 – Rarely had the most stable platform to work off, but nonetheless worked tirelessly to try and inject some menace around the fringes.

Zak Taulafo – 5 – Given a real going over in the set piece and wasn’t particularly mobile in defence, but he did get his hands on the ball plenty of times.

Ti’i Paulo – 5 – Actually held the lineout together fairly well given the pressure he was under, but he was fairly anonymous elsewhere on the park.

Census Johnston – 6 – Came off second best in the scrum battle, although he did have his moments and was a reliable source of front-foot ball for the visitors.

Filo Paulo – 8 – Samoa’s best player, especially in the first half.  Some of his hits were bone-jarring for the fans, let alone the recipients, and he was a real nuisance at ruck time.

Kane Thompson – 7 – Like Paulo, put himself around a lot in the loose and in defence, but found himself incurring the wrath of the referee on three separate occasions.

Maurie Fa’asavalu – 7 – Some trademark strong carries and plenty of oomph in defence as well, but was unable to really slow down English ball.

Jack Lam – 6 – Showed some dynamism with the ball in hand but he didn’t make too many tackles, and missed a couple as well.

Ofisa Treviranus – 7 – Some power-packed rumbles in the loose and off the back of the scrum – generally aiming at George Ford – got the Samoan fans on their feet.  Not great defensively, though.

Subs – 5 – Stemmed the flow of English points but unable to add a whole lot of spark to bring the Samoans back into things.

And in the other Autumn Internationals?

Ireland 26 – 23 Australia:  The Irish won a thriller in front of an electric atmosphere in the Aviva Stadium.  The hosts were actually 17 – 0 up after scores from Simon Zebo and Tommy Bowe, but tries from Nick Phipps (2) and Bernard Foley hauled the men in gold level.  The boot of World Player of Year nominee Johnny Sexton was enough to see them home, however.

Wales 16 – 34 New Zealand:  Wales’ 60 year hoodoo against the World Champions goes on, but it looked like history was going to be made when the hosts led 16 – 15 with 11 minutes remaining, with Rhys Webb’s score cancelling out Julian Savea’s effort.  But apparently you only beat the All Blacks if they let you win, and they tore the Welsh apart in the final 10 minutes via a brace from Beauden Barritt and an effort from the omnipresent Kieran Read.

Scotland 37 – 12 Tonga:  It was a tricky encounter in the first half for the Scots, but they eventually pulled away to exorcise the demons of their 2012 defeat.  Efforts from Stuart Hogg, Blair Cowan, Alex Dunbar, Geoff Cross and Tommy Seymour all sealed an ultimately comfortable win for the rejuvenated Scots.

Italy 6 – 22 South Africa:  The Springboks stuttered their way to an unconvincing win over the Azurri, with scores from Connie Oosthuizen, Cobus Reinach and Bryan Habana covering up a disjointed display from the visitors.

France 13 – 18 Argentina:   Ah the French.  Just when you think that they were building momentum, they go ahead and get outdone by a side they’re expected to beat.  Nicholas Sanchez was imperious, spanking over 3 drop goals and 2 penalties, with Hernandez adding a 4^th drop, to beat Les Bleus, despite the hosts crossing for 3 scores from Fofana, Lopez and Kockott.