Joe Cokanasiga was the star attraction as England produced an impressive seven-try rout of the United States to maintain their perfect start to the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The victory leaves Eddie Jones’s team sitting pretty at the top of Pool C, but with decidedly more testing matches against Argentina and France to come.
A one-sided affair on paper transpired into a one-sided affair on the pitch, and though England looked much more assertive in attack than Sunday’s win over Tonga, there is still more that needs to come from this side before they hit their top gear.
Cokanasiga scored either side of half-time to wrap-up the bonus point, after first-half tries from George Ford, Billy Vunipola and Luke Cowan-Dickie. Lewis Ludlam and Ruaridh McConnochie then got on the scoresheet in the second-half, as the lesser known players in the squad made the most of the biggest stage.
But while the US did finish with a well-deserved try, they also did with just 14 men on the field, after Irish-born flanker John Quill was sent off for a shoulder charge on – of all people – Owen Farrell. Thankfully, the officials did not this time fall short of the standards expected, as World Rugby so kindly put it earlier this week. Quill saw red. And rightly so.
England’s defence has set them out from the rest at this tournament and, for 81 minutes, this proved something of a statement performance, if without the attacking flair of New Zealand or Ireland.
It was their ability to deny USA any scoring chances at all that was the most impressive aspect of this encounter, with their control on the occasion displaying the stark difference between these two sides. USA did very little wrong – but England would not allow them to do much right.
From the fifth minute, England showed how easy they were going to find this. The USA had already lost 19-year-old prop David Ainu’u to a nasty-looking foot injury at the very first scrum, and a strong run from Vunipola allowed England to attack on the left through Cokanasiga and Piers Francis. Once recycled, fly-half Ford sprinted through the largest of gaps in a defence that had rushed up to no avail.
Ford almost looked embarrassed to score, but it would set the tone for what was to come.
Eddie Jones has made no secret of his desire to see England play ‘good old-fashioned English rugby’, so the sight of his forwards shoving over not one but two driving mauls in quick succession will have delighted the Australian.
The first was so dominant that Cowan-Dickie didn’t even have enough time to latch onto the maul before Vunipola was touching the ball down for his first of the tournament, but at least the hooker made it in time for the second to score England’s third of the first half.
Their superiority should have seen the bonus point wrapped up by half-time, only for Cokanasiga to butcher a glorious chance, with Daly’s perfect chip and Joseph’s offload going to ground instead of Cokanasiga’s hands.
The bonus point would not take long to arrive though, and as luck would have it, it would be up to Cokanasiga to score it. Joseph again proved provider, cutting though the midfield to be stopped a whisker away from the line, and allowing Heinz to send Cokanasiga to go over from close range.
The USA simply could not get to grips with their opponents. Quick play from replacements Ben Youngs and Farrell built the platform for McConnochie to score his first international try for the 15s side, successfully capping his conversion from Sevens, and – as American lungs emptied – Ford had all the time in the world to send Ludlam over 13 minutes from time.
There were to be enough time remaining though for two big flare-ups, one in defence, and one in attack.
The first saw one of the most-talked topics of this World Cup return. Youngs attempted to release Farrell with a quick penalty from England’s own 22m line, only for Farrell to clumsily knock the ball on. However, his embarrassment quickly turned to pain and then fury when American openside Quoll smashed him in the chin, shoulder first, long after the whistle had gone. As the two sides wrestled with each other in a good round of afters, referee Nic Berry and TMO Ben Skeen took another look at the incident, and with the Cork-born flanker’s shoulder connecting flush with Farrell’s jaw, there was no option than to send him off.
Thankfully, unlike other such instances before this match, Berry did just that.
England had time for one more try as Cokanasiga doubled up, but the hard work was all done by replacement prop Ellis Genge following his 50m surge that saw him brush off, flatten and charge through four defenders.
Yet, though the USA had to watch glumly as fullback Will Hooley was taken off on a stretcher after landing awkwardly on his head, the Americans used the final play of the match to score the first try of the tournament. Bryce Campbell was the man to finish what was a frantic final minute that was about as un-England-like as they come.
Luckily, their only try came at the end of 80 minutes of English dominance.
