World Cup Warm Up Review - England 21 - 13 Ireland

"The World Cup Starts Here".  

That was the official tagline given to the occasion by Graham Rowntree before England hosted Ireland at Twickenham in their final warm up game before the party really gets underway against Fiji in two Friday's time.  Of course, that wasn't entirely true.  The main thing any England fan would have wanted was an improvement on the steaming barrel of manure served up in Paris for 70 minutes a couple of weeks previously - some sort of statement, some sort of springboard from which a World Cup challenge could be launched without the shadow of despondent dread that you usually associate with one of the national football team's campaigns.  Oh, and no injuries of course (sorry, Wales). Technically, despite the obvious mental benefit of maintaining a winning run at the home ground where you'll be conducting your World Cup battles, the result here wouldn't count for anything realistically; the performance would.  But straight from the kick-off, you could tell that the men in white weren't thinking that way.  They wanted both; the performance and - crucially - the win.

Chris Robshaw set the tone with a crunching hit on Sumon Zebo straight from the kick-off and the English pack followed up well to apply the pressure to force an attacking line-out.  Tom Youngs - under pressure after set piece problems last week - managed to hit Geoff Parling and, although the bearded wonder couldn't gather it cleanly under the pressure from Paul O'Connell, it was one from one and it gave the hosts a platform from which to an attack with real tempo.  After Johnny May and Anthony Watson both threatened with their speed and footwork, a gorgeous floated pass from Ben Youngs hit May in space the left hand channel, where the Gloucester flyer smashed straight through Tommy Bowe of all people to crash over in the corner.  May might have had space but he still had a hell of a lot to do and, although the celebration made him look like a man stumbling out of a Wetherspoons happy hour, his finish was indicative of a man with renewed confidence to match his obvious ability.  George Ford banged over the conversion from wide out, and England had the dream start - whilst Tommy Bowe was left to rue his abysmal attempt at a tackle.

Ireland briefly recovered from the men in white's lightening start as a fired-up May was penalised for hitting Johnny Sexton in the air, timing his hit fractionally early - although he pulled out of the challenge when he realised his error.  That probably saved him from seeing yellow, but it didn't save 3 points from the boot of Sexton, courtesy of the crossbar.

It would prove to be a brief respite though for the Irish as England began to dominate possession, territory and the gainline, with Tom Youngs and Ben Morgan both making good yardage around the fringes, and after 12 minutes they got over the line again.  It was from an attacking lineout (cleanly taken!) and from the 22 the English pack got a rumble going, only for the maul to be hauled down by the visitors.  With a penalty advantage in his pocket, Ford knocked over a perfectly-weighted cross-field kick which the onrushing Watson took over the head of the backpeddling Zebo.  It was a superbly executed score, served with a delicious helping of irony, given the Scmidt's sides aerial dominance in Dublin earlier on in the year.  Ford missed the extras, but there was no doubt that the hosts were in complete control.

They were soon on the move again as Joe Marler crashed past Devan Toner on a rampage that left Conor Murray unconscious and having to leave the game to undergo concussion protocols, before Chris Robshaw made good yards from a smart Ben Youngs switch to get the hosts on the front foot.  From there, the ball went through the hands quickly for May to scorch over again in the left, finishing with a sort of skip as he attempted to evade an anticipated low tackle which never arrived, which unfortunately made him look like a bit of nancy.  Still a cracking finish though.  Alas, it was all for nothing as it transpired that the final pass - from Tom Youngs - had gone forward by a couple of metres.  Some blame could be attached to May for being too flat, but let's just say you can see why Youngs isn't a centre any more - it was a pass he should have made, which was a shame because he had been phenomenal up until that point.

Still, this was all light years better than the dross served up in Paris a fortnight ago.  The only issue that hadn't seemed to have been resolved was the scrum issue, where Mike Ross was causing some damage, attacking the bind between Marler and Youngs - which will give Graham Rowntree some sleepless nights.  Despite this though, the hosts should have had another 5 pointer before half time, as Jonathan Joseph couldn't release the ball quick enough under pressure from Zebo to the lurking May, but England were still good value for the 12-3 win - not just because of their attacking play, but also because the much-vaunted backrow of Heaslip, O'Brien and O'Mahony had been phased completely out of the game.

Ireland came out at half time having clearly had a talking to and immediately went on the attack, with O'Brien and Paul O'Connell carrying hard - but solid defence from Youngs, Parling,Brad Barritt and Tom Wood meant that the visitors were getting very little change out of the white wall they were facing.  In fact, it was the hosts who grabbed the first points as they earned themselves a surprise scrum penalty near halfway, allowing Ford to echo Sexton's earlier effort with a 3 pointer helped over by the crossbar.  The 12 point advantage only lasted three minutes though as the Irish pack surged towards the English line after Joe Launchbury, on for Parling, failed to gather a restart, and good pressure forced a simple penalty which was knocked over by Sexton.

Another three minutes and it was another score for the Six Nations Champions, completely against the run of the game as a whole - but this one was a 7-pointed.  Following an attacking lineout, Heaslip rolled off the maul to get within 3 metres and skipper O'Connell smartly spotted a gap caused by the Irish clearout to burrow over the line for a real captain's try.  After the extras, Ireland were suddenly just two points behind, despite barely being in the game.

That though was, for the Irish, as close as they were going to get.  In fact, they didn't even get a sniff over the English line in the last quarter, as England were stung into action and the substitutes helped close the game out.  Tom Wood, in particular, was making some big carries in wide channels (although he somehow contrived to let Sexton strip the ball from him with the line beckoning) and, with May quieter but still causing panic in the Irish defence with his acceleration, the hosts seemed to carry all the aces - particularly when Slammin' Sammy Burgess entered the fray.  It was Owen Farrell, though, who had the chance to close the game off, but he inexplicably tried to throw an enormous miss-pass with a 4-on-1 overlap when all that was required was for the ball to go through the hands. England nearly made the most of it though as Wigglesworth wriggled over from close range after another good charge from Wood, but it was adjudged that the Saints man had taken the ball from Robshaw in an offside position.  

It was another close call for the hosts, but the boot of Farrell finally eased the nerves with two well struck penalties to close the game out, before Burgess weighed in with a final contribution, smashing Ian Madigan with a monster hit that again served a reminder of what he can bring to the party.

And it might not quite be a party yet, but a 21 - 13 win for England will certainly have created a few happy faces amongst the England fans and management.  It wasn't perfect - tries were squandered after a clinical opening, they switched off their intensity for 10-minutes, the lineout was much better but still too easily read by opposition jumpers, forcing scrappy ball, and the scrum is still a concern.  But those who needed big games duly delivered and the opportunities created in front of a raucous home crowd means that the World Cup hosts can rightly feel positive a fortnight before the big kick-off - even if the game was against an Irish side looking worryingly flat and lacking invention. Now it feels that England have some element of momentum, the real party is about to get started.


England Player Ratings

1. Joe Marler: 7. Superb break in the first half and genuinely much more lively in the loose than in previous games. Concerned about the bind between him and Youngs though, which has been targeted on two occasions by tightheads.

2. Tom Youngs: 7. Unbelievable contribution around the park – making 17 tackles in 50 minutes, disrupting opposition ruck ball and making some hard yards. Lineout not spotless but much improved, but that forward pass reminded us why he doesn't play centre anymore.

3. Dan Cole: 5. A bit concerning, actually. He wasn't as prominent in the loose as before and, although the scrum problems were mainly on the other side, he couldn't apply the same pressure to McGrath and Best himself.

4. Geoff Parling: 8. A reminder of why he is a big game player. Delivered the sort of performance he gave for the Lions with a superb showing in the lineout and a busy day around the park too – has cemented a starting spot for himself.

5. Courtney Lawes: 7. Much more effective this week, getting through a lot of work in defence and carrying well in some of the wider channels.

6. Tom Wood: 8. I'll be honest, I haven't rated Wood for years. I've always thought he doesn't bring enough bite to the table, but he was as hungry as I've seen him against Ireland. Some strong carries, good lineout work and big tackles all stood out…although he won't like to watch replays of being stripped in possession by a fly half…

7. Chris Robshaw: 8. Much more like it from the skipper. He was everywhere again and made a real nuisance of himself at the breakdown. Link play was top notch.

8. Ben Morgan: 7. Big improvement on last outing, regularly wriggling out of tackles and one turnover in particular shows how big a difference three weeks has made. Has potentially pinched Billy's starting spot.

9. Ben Youngs: 8. Very sharp, very impressive. Gorgeous floated pass for May set up the space he needed for the first score, and his delivery was reliable throughout. Kicking game outshone his opponents, too.

10. George Ford: 7. Again, much better – although still not back to his best. Varied play nicely but still occasionally took the wrong option. That cross field kick for Watson's try was bang on the money though.

11. Johnny May: 9. I've almost given him an extra point for shoving my words down my throat. He's improved immeasurably and had Tommy Bowe on toast all afternoon. I don't know many other wingers who can say that. Blistering pace, and now confidence and power to go with it. Man of the match.

12. Brad Barritt: 6. Solid return for a man returning from injury. Nothing spectacular, as you'd expect, but a reliable presence in the middle of the park who settled things down and led the defensive line well.

13. Jonathan Joseph: 6. Largely well shackled again but his footwork caused plenty of issues, and his ability to wriggle through gaps is amazing. Could/should have passed to set up May in the first half, though.

14. Anthony Watson: 8. His balance and quick feet are jaw-droppingly good. Incredible take for his try and still has the capacity to beat anyone in a 5 metre-channel. A potential superstar.

15. Mike Brown: 8. Back to his slippery best, his ability under the high ball on Saturday was phenomenal as he repelled the aerial threat with apparent ease, and used his own ability to good effect in attack.

Replacements: 6. A bit of a mixed bag, really. Jamie George impressed again, Sam Burgess threw a forward pass and knocked the ball on before contributing with some hard carries and a huge hit on Madigan, whilst Farrell was dead-eyed in front of goal but butchered a try-scoring situation with a shocker of a pass.