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England rout Manu Samoa

By Peter Hanson
Alex Lozowski scores for England

England chalked up a landmark 200th win at Twickenham as they rounded of their November internationals with a 48-14 rout of Samoa.

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No other side in international rugby has won as many games at a single venue and England – powered by man of the match George Ford – rarely needed to get out of second gear to make it three wins from three this month, having already beaten Argentina and Australia.

Mike Brown, Alex Lozowski and Charlie Ewels all touched down in the first half as England opened up a 22-7 lead, Piula Faasalele’s score the only blot for Eddie Jones’ men.

The going was tougher early in the second half with Samoa’s superb defensive work frustrating England, but two Elliot Daly tries either side of a Henry Slade score and Christopher Vui responding for the visitors preceded a last-gasp score for Semesa Rokoduguni.

Bigger challenges undoubtedly lay in wait, but England have still been beaten just once under Jones’ stewardship heading into 2018.

 

Having benefited from several contentious decisions against Australia, England saw an early tight call go in their favour on Saturday.

Danny Care was adjudged not to have knocked on at the breakdown and Maro Itoje slipped in Brown for an easy score in just the second minute.

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England were over again when Tim Nanai-Williams made a hash of an up-and-under, and Daly and Jamie George combined to send Lozowski in for his first international try.

Slack defending from the hosts quickly allowed Faasalele to put Samoa on the board with a pick-and-go under the posts.

The hosts were soon back in the ascendancy, though. Ford kicked a penalty before Ewels bulldozed his way over at the end of prolonged pressure.

England lost Jonny May to a head injury shortly after the restart, and the hosts were frustrated by some stoic work from Samoa in defence, which earned the visitors several breakdown penalties.

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However, just after the hour, England were over again. Ben Youngs’ quick hands found Ford, who in turn fed Daly – the Wasps man stepping in off the wing and heading for the corner.

Faasalele was then harshly sin-binned for going off his feet at the ruck, and England made their numerical advantage count as Slade dotted down at the end of a lineout move.

Samoa did have something to cheer when Vui dived over from close range, but Daly showed Samo’s defence a clean pair of heels to race over again, before Rokoduguni completed a free-flowing play with the last move of the game.

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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