Two tries: Charlie Sharples
Related links
Teams
Also see
England opened their November Test series account with a decisive 54-12 victory over Fiji, which sets them up nicely for tackling Australia next week.
Following an early blip whereby the islanders held the upper hand, England clicked into gear to claim a seven-try win that will please Stuart Lancaster.
Test debuts were taken by Tom Youngs, Mako Vunipola and Joe Launchbury but it was full-back Alex Goode who stole the show on Saturday as he put in an accomplished performance at fifteen.
Much sterner tests are yet to come however.
Fiji had opened the game in impressive style and despite conceding a penalty at the first scrum of the match, they soon settled into a period of huge dominance of both territory and possession. Late call-up from Gloucester, Akapusi Qera was prominent early on alongside Api Naikatani.
Their hopes further improved on nine minutes when England scrum-half Danny Care was shown a yellow by referee Glen Jackson - who was advised by fourth official Craig Joubert - for an alleged tip tackle. It was a tough call from the officials and one that offered the visitors an extra boost, particularly with their 81 per cent possession statistic at that point in the game.
However, England weathered the storm and in fact scored three points while Care was in the bin, Toby Flood knocking over a penalty with 20 minutes played. It proved to be the start of a turnaround in the statistics as confidence started flowing into England's gameplan.
Goode was England's main strike weapon as he vindicated coach Lancaster's decision to move him ahead of Mike Brown. He was popping up in the first line of attack on countless occasions and his one-two combination with Care always kept Fiji's defence guessing.
Two minutes later and the home side had their reward when Care's smart line off the shoulder of Thomas Waldrom led to Manu Tuilagi and Goode combining before wing Charlie Sharples cut back against the grain to beat three defenders. Flood made it 10-0.
England were beginning to turn the screw in front of 82,000 supporters at HQ, and when a Flood penalty on 26 minutes was compounded for the islanders with Deacon Manu yellow carded for repeated infringements, it looked like being the perfect chance to kill the game.
They did just that when a penalty try was awarded before a break then Care almost set up Sharples for his second try only for the TMO to rule "no try" after the ball had hit the flag.
England were over soon after though when Goode's quick thinking on the stroke of half-time saw him tap before setting up Ugo Monye for a simple try that sent them in 25-0 ahead.
Following the turnaround, England came out firing and should have scored to back up Flood's 43rd-minute penalty but Dan Cole chose to run instead of pass. But when a flowing move saw Goode combine with fly-half Flood, England were over with Johnson on the right.
Fiji hit back with a superb solo effort from Glasgow's Nicola Matawalu, who picked off Ugo Monye's pass, stepped past centre Tuilagi and then won the race to his own chip ahead.
England, though, soon had another try on the board when Flood's looping pass sent in Sharples for his second as he gave Lancaster food for thought in Chris Ashton's absence.
Amidst changes, Ben Youngs came on for Care to make the Youngs family the 10th set of brothers to play in the same England side and the first since Steffon and Delon Armitage.
Then, inside the final ten minutes of the match at Twickenham, Tuilagi bolstered England's victory margin with two tries before Fiji replacement Sekonaia Kalou had the final word by crashing over to cap a match that was entertaining from start to finish.
Man of the match: Faultless at the back. Alex Goode wins this one hands down after he slotted into the English line-up with ease. Many had questioned the move to pick him over Mike Brown at number fifteen but Goode silenced all those doubters on Saturday.
Moment of the match: Although it didn't result in a try, Charlie Sharples' grubber down the line which hit the corner flag and bounced back into play could have been brilliant. A close second has to be the try from Nicola Matawalu, a move he had started 60 metres downfield.
Villain of the match: Few incidents to speak of. Danny Care's yellow card was harsh.
The scorers:
For England:
Tries: Sharples 2, Penalty, Monye, Johnson, Tuilagi 2
Con: Flood 4, Farrell
Pen: Flood 3
For Fiji:
Tries: Matawalu, Kalou Qaraniqio
Con: Matavesi
England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Danny Care, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Johnson, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Joe Launchbury, 19 Tom Wood, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Owen Farrell, 22 Mike Brown.
Fiji: 15 Simeli Koniferedi, 14 Samu Wara, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Sireli Naqelevuki, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Metuisela Talebula, 9 Nicola Matawalu, 8 Akapusi Qera 7 Malaki Ravulo, 6 Api Naikatani, 5 Apisolame Ratuniyarawa, 4 Leone Nakawara, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Viliame Veikoso, 1 Ratu Makutu.
Replacements: 16 Seremaia Naureure, 17 Setafano Samoca, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Sekonaia Kalou, 20 Iliesa Ratuva, 21 Kelemedi Bola, 22 Josh Matavesi, 23 Ravai Fatiaki.
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa),Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Television match official: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)
Comments
lawynd says...
@cuw3100 - it's you who should probably keep abreast of developments; greater TMO powers are in use in the AP this year (not sure about the Pro 12 or Top 14), along with the new scrum engagement calls, the five-second rule at rucks and, I think, the time limit on penalty kicks and conversions. Given that two of those rules were being used in yesterday's game (I'll let you tell me which ones to see if you were paying attention), it's not that unreasonable to assume that the others may have been too.
Posted 09:38 11th November 2012
bigb6969 says...
Things to note of me, Danny Care - fast half back, looks like the equivalent of Aaron Smith for the ABs, and Charlie Sharples a player I had never seen before , looks a class winger. Real test coming up of course in the coming weeks
Posted 07:48 11th November 2012
worldwary says...
Really uncohesive and inaccurate performance from England to be truthful. Fiji were almost never in alignment in defence yet the staggered line of gaps was almost never exploited, the All Blacks would have almost never have been touched such was the diorganisation of Fijis defence.
In addition the passes were slow, often behind the man or high, inaccurate and predictable with few if any decoy or support runners on the shoulder. None of this will bother even the Wobblies let alone the world champs. It looked like it was in slow motion to me.
I really hope England is just doing enough here and holding something back because if they play with that predictability and inaccuracy against a modern team they will be lucky to get zero.
Forward pack ok but Waldron pretty much showing why in New Zealand he wasn't even a sure thing as a super rugby start and would never be promoted to test level there...all 5 super franchises have 2-3 Number 8s of greater quality, I find it hard to believe England cannot develop better.
Posted 06:27 11th November 2012
cuw3100 says...
Its a pity FIJI cannot put their best 23 on the park, mainly due to financial reasons. MOst of their best talent is either opting for NZ / OZ or moving to Europe on a permanent basis. If only guys like Sivivatu, Palu, et al were all playing for FIJI and on a constant basis (that includes regular and long training together) they could surprise almost any team.
Being more of a 7s follower, its amazing to see the wide gap between the 2 types where FIJI is concerned. In a way, they play 7s even in the 15 man game!
Posted 04:29 11th November 2012
cuw3100 says...
@ TVaddict : mate u need to read the LAW BOOK b4 posting tripe!
Accpted the RU LAWS keep on chaning faster than the Greek economy, but its better to know what ur talking about instead of making stupid remarks on the men that matter - referees, Please !!!
There is no LAW in RU internationals that says the ref shud refer to the TV match official to check on tackles, or for foulplay when a try is scored.
Instead of being a TV ADDICT if u spent a little of ur sorry time reading the game's LAWS and nuances, you could be something worthwhile.... :) duh
Posted 03:57 11th November 2012
tellitlikeitis says...
If you want to know all about this game, watch the try before half time for England, and watch Qera at 47 minutes ( he did it so blatantly - the kick on the wrong side of the ruck- it was like he wanted to MAKE SURE the ref saw it.
Fiji threw this game. After all the hail mary chips and impossible passes (even for them) and knock ons and non-tackles, curiously when the handicap was well beaten (-32) they were able to put together some great phases, great attacking moves, great support lines and score a try no problem. And how did they not score in that first ten minutes?!
FIji threw it, there was either money on it, or they did it to make a point- either way, watch their tackling, watch their fake effort, and watch those instances above. Ive been watching rugby a long time and ive seen this happen before. They threw it. It's as simple as that.
Posted 02:16 11th November 2012
trelawney says...
@tTVaddict - Danny Care lifted the players legs ABOVE the horizontal, therefore he was given 10 mins in the sin bin quite correctly (please read the rules on this subject)
Posted 01:10 11th November 2012
DampAardvark says...
I think the performance of Goode had some high points but it certainly was not flawless. His movement into the backline was often unneeded and showed poor decision making. He tended to come in when htere was little room between the outside centre and Monye, essentially pushing the winger right onto the touch line. If you look carefully at Sharples first try, the reason he had to cut inside was because Goode had entered the attack in the wrong place, forcing the backs too far wide. There is no point in inserting another runner into the backline to create an overlap when the ovelap is pushed so wide that it cannot in fact be used.
Posted 00:57 11th November 2012
1st58 says...
England were ordinary at best - Fiji truly dreadful....meaningless match.
Posted 00:24 11th November 2012
georgesmith says...
Fiji was good only for the first 20mins when the score was 0-0. Twice they went close to the tryline and also missed two penalties before T. Flood opened the floodgates. S. Naqelevuki is quality player and so is V. Goneva. It is never easy to beat England and Fiji never had any chance, not based on the poor way they prepared.
Posted 00:00 11th November 2012
Waz4before says...
The result was good if you consider the physicality of the Fijians: the first 10 minutes were poor with the second 10 (with14 men) not much better. But judging this performance has to be done looking at the age/experience of his team, Lancaster continues to show scant regard for older, more experienced players (even better players?) & he may pay a heavy price in the sort term - especially in the next 3 games although the Wobblies look there for the taking - but I suspect his horizons are much further out so I personally think he needs to be judged on progress by the 2014 six nations as a squad this inexperienced just arent going to beat more experienced teams regularly, but a real positive from today is the options in different positions are starting to appear.
Posted 23:20 10th November 2012
Warrior7 says...
TV addict, if you saw Goode he was running straight across the Fijian player so was committing an act of foul play himself. I thought Jackson had a good game in charge, apart from listening to Joubert. Joubert called the yellow card - and im not sure that the TMO can assisst with that in internationals, only club level (I could be mistaken)
Posted 22:50 10th November 2012
TVaddict says...
Sorry! Just realised that the ref couldn't go to the TMO as the extended powers thing only applies in the premiership. My mistake! On that note though I think that rule should be applied universally, it's missed in a negative way when it's not there.
Posted 22:38 10th November 2012
Trader2 says...
I presume that was an England 15's win against the Fiji 7's team!! Good effort and after watching the Wannabies, England should only need 7 players next week.
Posted 22:31 10th November 2012
ben7 says...
I know it was only Fiji but still. Most impressive England backline in a while. Just need Ashton ahead of Monye. Alex Goode is so exciting to watch!!!!
Posted 20:40 10th November 2012
sirtidychris says...
Great result from a team missing several players, next week will hope to see ashton back and perhaps morgan instead of waldrom
Posted 20:30 10th November 2012
jmanngod says...
Fiji between RWCs are notoriously poor; and this looks to still be the case. Best ref of the weekend so far by a very clear margin
Posted 20:08 10th November 2012
TVaddict says...
Well a good performance against a poor team. Did what was required, got new players some international experience, and freshened the whole team up on how to play. Positives:
-I thought the Goode experiment worked well today, but I'll need to see it being successful against stronger teams to be completely sold on the idea of Brown not starting.
-Scored lots of points! Not something we've always been able to do.
-Tom Youngs, Vunipola, Launchbury all played well for their first caps. Paice also seemed up to, wait for it, the 'paice' of international rugby.
-Sharples looked, wait for it again, 'sharp' in attack. Ok, ok I'll stop that, but he definitely won the winger shirt for the next game with Ashton getting the other spot.
Negatives:
-Waldrom and Monye were very poor. Waldrom seemed to be jogging everywhere, and Monye, though physical, gave away the ball for the first Figi 'try'.
-Referee. He allowed Figi to constantly be offside with no punishment for repeatedly offending. That yellow card to Danny Care was a joke, nothing like a spear tackle and even if he suspected he should have gone to the TMO first, that's what it's there for! Then he didn't even check with the TMO for the first try where Goode was clearly pulled back, and there's no way he would of been able to conclusively prove that ball was grounded by Figi first without going to the TMO. Very poor, and he seemed to come down on England harshly. Did the TMO sleep with his wife or something? Ask the man when there's a 50-50 call! Also, I'm not convinced that Brown non-try was a knock on, dubious decision. My guess is that he's got a holiday to Figi coming up and he wanted to be on their good side.
Posted 19:57 10th November 2012
Jediboy says...
I was expecting better,even though this was not our first team. Some good stuff, but plenty to work on. Still.
I feel we should be further down the road than we are. So a little disappointed. Bearing in mind these are the best players we have, there were far too many basic mistakes. And I don't buy the 'rusty' argument. Like I said, these are top players and the season is well underway so there should be no rustiness.
It wasn't all bad, but loads to work on for next week.
Posted 19:44 10th November 2012
melkdave says...
@Looseheadcannon
Try looking online at thefirstrow.eu-sport-hmtl it had all the tests today including Japan V Romainia
Posted 19:35 10th November 2012