KOBE – England's squad players got
the job done with a solid 45-7 bonus point victory over the
United States at the Rugby World Cup on Thursday against a
determined Eagles side.
With a four-day turnaround after their opening Pool C
victory over Tonga, coach Eddie Jones rang the changes with 10
new picks but was rewarded with seven tries in humid conditions
at a packed Kobe Misaki Stadium.
Skipper George Ford, Billy Vunipola and Luke Cowan-Dickie
scored before the break, with winger Joe Cokanasiga grabbing a
brace and Ruaridh McConnochie and Lewis Ludlam also crossing in
the second half.
United States flanker John Quill was sent off in the 70th
minute for a shoulder-charge to the head of Owen Farrell but the
Americans never gave up and replacement Bryce Campbell finally
got them on the scoreboard after the final gong.
"It's a good win again," said player-of-the-match Ford. "We
had to work for it again, the USA were a really physical,
passionate team so we had to earn that win and I thought we did
that very well."
U.S. coach Gary Gold, however, was disappointed. "You can't be missing nearly 40 tackles in a game and still
hope to be in the game," he added.
"It was a pretty awful
performance by us tonight."
England had come in for some criticism after their untidy
35-3 win over Tonga on Sunday but they showed right from the
kickoff that they were in determined mood.
U.S. fullback Will Hooley had said ahead of the game that,
while England had good players, they were not from Mount
Olympus, though he may feel he was hit by Zeus himself in the
opening seconds after being smashed backwards by centre Piers
Francis.
That opening tackle looked borderline high but went
unpunished.
After waiting until the 24th minute to score on Sunday,
England were quicker off the mark in Kobe, scrumhalf Willi Heinz
finding Ford running a beautiful line and the number 10 went
through to score under the posts after five minutes.
England then opted to kick for touch when awarded a penalty
just outside the U.S. 22 and were rewarded when Tom Curry
claimed the lineout and Vunipola smashed over from the back of a
driving maul.
England's third try arrived in similar circumstances, the
United States powerless to stop a rampaging maul before
Cowan-Dickie touched down.
The stadium's retractable roof was closed for the match,
meaning that while the players had to deal with stifling
humidity the fans were able to create a boisterous atmosphere.
Chants of "USA! USA!" competed with renditions of England's
rugby anthem "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" while the entire crowd
joined together at halftime to belt out the John Denver classic,
"Take me home, country roads".
The red shirts of England were quickly into their stride
after the break and claimed the bonus point try in the 48th
minute when a rampaging Jonathan Joseph was stopped just short
but Cokanasiga was on hand to score.
A raft of substitutions followed, with Ben Youngs coming on
to win his 91st cap and join Jonny Wilkinson and prop Dan Cole,
who had started the match, for third on the all-time England
men's appearances list.
England winger McConnochie was having a quiet night but the
Olympic rugby sevens silver medallist showed his sense of timing
just before the hour mark, taking a pass at full pelt and
bundling over for his first international try in the 15-aside
game.
England's seventh score came with four minutes left when
replacement prop Ellis Genge barrelled his way through a host
tired U.S. tacklers before Cokanasiga finished off.
England, not content, greedily went for another score after
the final 'gong' had sounded but instead it was the United
States who got the score, replacement Bryce Campbell going over
after an untidy, frenzied passage of play.