England’s bid to win the Rugby World Cup has got off to cracking start at Twickenham as the host team beat Fiji 35-11.
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“To be truthfully honest with you, I didn’t know that bonus points counted in the World Cup“, he said.
I expect the Australian camp watched the game intently and will be making adjustments to their plans for their opening game against Fiji on Wednesday in Cardiff.
“Maybe there are some chinks in their armour which we will keep for ourselves”.
“We have a strong bench and we can trust them”.
It was a mixed night for England, who started really well amid a tingling atmosphere but lost their way against a physical and determined Fijian side before finishing strongly.
A penalty try, and two efforts from Mike Brown put the hosts in control before Billy Vunipola powered over in the last move of the game to ensure maximum points.
“Billy, Mako and Sam came on and did well for us, provided quicker ball and that proved the difference in the end”, said Lancaster.
Burgess was again involved as the English went in search of a bonus point try, on hand to take an offload from Brown before throwing one of his own from the ground.
Man of the match Mike Brown got his second and the team’s third with eight minutes remaining, setting up a thunderous finale sealed by Vunipola, with the help of the TV Match Official.
And Robshaw, who captained England for a 39th time, the same as World Cup winning skipper Martin Johnson managed, praised their opponents for their tough approach but was ultimately happy to come away with the maximum five points.
“It was awesome to get two tries in the first game of my first World Cup on home soil, that’s a dream come true”.
Stuart Lancaster has picked a very young squad and not many of them have been to a World Cup before, so it took them a little bit of time to find their feet.
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But the worry for head coach Lancaster is that the victory – which was in peril with England leading only 18-11 after 67 minutes – was finally achieved by players he sent to the rescue off the bench, not his starting XV.
“But it’s a win and we are delighted to get the points”.
“What we saw against Fiji we’ve seen all along from Sam. We know what he brings”, attacking skills coach Catt said.
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It made for an open, exciting spectacle as the dropped balls and turnovers kept everyone on their toes but the approach made few inroads as the second half ticked by.
