England v Chile: Five takeaways from the Rugby World Cup clash as young guns steal the show

James While
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England players celebrate after scoring featuring Marcus Smith Henry Arundell, Marcus Smith and Theo Dan

England players celebrate during the Rugby World Cup clash with Chile featuring Marcus Smith Henry Arundell, Marcus Smith and Theo Dan

Following England’s 71-0 victory over Chile, here are our five takeaways from the Rugby World Cup clash in Lille.

The top line

England Rugby have needed a superstar for a number of years, and with Henry Arundell equalling the England record for most tries in a Rugby World Cup match, scoring five absolute snorters, it appears that they may have found one.

The flying wing was brilliant all evening, and none of his five was a gimme, as he inspired England to a 71-0 win against a brave Chile.

England’s power, patience and pace were simply too much for the Tier 2 nation, who started so brightly but faded as England’s structure and fitness ground them into the ground. It was arguably one the most impressive displays under Steve Borthwick for the simple reason we saw some of the attacking shape he has promised come to fruition.

The headlines will all be about the brilliance of Arundell and his five tries, with a byline for the equally impressive Theo Dan, but England’s control, discipline and defence all had resounding ticks against them by the end of the game.

A World Cup squad player needs to play, and to see all of England’s players now capped at this tournament will give the team harmony and happiness, a feeling that all of those selected have contributed. But the biggest takeout is whilst Borthwick has been criticised many times for sticking to an old formula, tonight he found new and exciting ingredients to spice up his own rugby recipes. Selection for the Samoa game will be interesting to say the least.

Vindication of youth

This match underlined the future of England Rugby as three youngsters arrived properly on both their persona and their World Cup journey.

Arundell’s brilliance down the left wing was simply too much for Chile as he grabbed his first Test five-fer in an incredible personal afternoon, looking like the finisher that England have needed for so long. He joins Josh Lewsey and Rory Underwood as the only three players ever to score five in a game at Test level, and fitness-allowing, he looks set for a career as illustrious as those two England greats.

At loosehead, Bevan Rodd may not yet be a scrummaging force at this level, but around the park, the Sale Shark is something very special indeed, popping up everywhere in midfield to link and barrelling over for a short-range try that showed his close-range power.

But it was the all-around performance of the young Saracen Dan that really caught the eye alongside Arundell, popping up everywhere like a fourth flanker and showing brilliant hands to send his right wing over for his second with a two-man miss pass. His darts went well, often a problem in the past, and he added a brace of short-range efforts to underline the power side of his game.

A word too for a rookie Test player of a slighter older vintage; lock David Ribbans was absolutely everywhere all evening, a real vindication of this athleticism and quality, and it was his work down the middle of the pitch that created the mismatch for Arundell’s fifth try.

Farrell/Smith axis

For the first 20 minutes, England looked stodgy and static as they attempted to wear down the committed forwards of Chile. You might say disjointed at times, with the tired old formula of crash and crash with a one-out runner on the carrier’s shoulder. But new combinations take time to settle, and as England’s forwards tired the Chileans out, their backs started to find their mojo.

The key to Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith playing together is getting Smith running at pace as a second distributor, not from 15 but down the 12 channel, not really what you’d expect from such a slightly built player. But with the delicacy of Farrell’s hands and the commitment of Smith’s running, once they gelled, it resulted in a brilliant 40 m try for England’s new full-back, as he simply gassed the Chile defence off the Lille pitch.

Did it answer the questions of England’s attack? Possibly not, but what it did do was allow a new combination to work out how best to use each other’s skill-sets to maximum benefit, and it gives Steve Borthwick tactical and selectorial headaches of the very best kind.

Chilean experience

To watch the passion, vibrancy and colour brought to Lille by both the team and their fans sum up precisely why the Tier 2 nations need a place at rugby’s top table.

From drumming bands outside the stadium to the passion of their reporters, sobbing with the emotion of their journey during the anthems, they are authentic, knowledgeable and colourful.

Some 15,000 of the 44,000 in the stadium made the trip from South America to France, underlining the growth of the sport in the generally soccer-mad country.

This match made the front pages of their national newspapers, billed as the biggest match in this emerging nation’s history and given the need to develop these incredible emerging nations; World Rugby would do well to have a deep dive into Chile.

They almost grabbed the opening score, too; after a period of compelling defence on their own line, Cristobal Game and the outstanding skipper Martin Sigren tore England apart down the narrow side, almost going the length, with both sets of supporters bellowing their approval as Sigren was closed down at the last minute to deny a famous start to this match.

Looking forward

Barring a disaster, England are home and hosed for the quarter-finals as top of Pool D. In each game this tournament, they’ve taken one step forward, and today was the biggest stride of the lot in terms of attack and ambition.

Samoa will provide a stern physical for Borthwick’s men, but with all 33 players now available, managing a win and retaining a fit squad will be the most important item on his agenda. He learned so much tonight, most of all that there are youngsters that he can trust if he’s prepared to give them their chance.

England are now gathering momentum, and with the luxury of the draw, there’s a real feeling that they might just be the tournament’s dark horses.

It’s a big claim, but based on the match-on-match improvement we’ve seen so far, there’s a lot of evidence to back the claim up.

For Chile, the message is rather more simple: make sure you come back- you were an absolute breath of fresh air, and you will only get better.

READ MORE: Five-try Henry Arundell fires England to handsome victory over Chile

England Henry Arundell

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