After the fireworks and razzle-dazzle of a fun opening ceremony, the Rugby World Cup opening match was a fizzer as England accounted for Fiji by a flattering 35-11 at Twickenham this morning.
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Brown added another late in the second half and Billy Vunipola crashed over as the clock turned red to give England a bonus-point try.
The 45-year-old also admitted that England must improve ahead of those fixtures if they are to advance into the knockout phases.
“It was a nervy performance wasn’t it, but I thought Fiji were excellent”, Lancaster said.
The second half started scrappily with both teams conceding possession through handling errors or lack of discipline.
Mike’s former college was quick to send their support, they said: “We are extremely proud of what he has achieved”.
“Across the country, regardless of age, background or beliefs; this nation, which gave rugby to the world in 1823, will join together and celebrate the game like never before”.
“All in all to get five points we are in a happy place”.
England next play bitter rivals Wales in a week’s time, while New Zealand open their title defence against Rugby Championship rivals Argentina at Wembley on Sunday. But Anthony Watson needs to stay fit for this to work, as his ability to go after the ball in the air has given England an extra dimension to their game.
After 51 minutes, England freshened their pack and also brought on Richard Wigglesworth for scrum-half Ben Youngs in a bid to test Fiji’s fitness.
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.
When Vunipola came on midway through the second half, England had gone more than 30 minutes without scoring and Fiji had closed with seven points at 18-11.
“But if they’re playing that fairly conservative game, he’s a good guy to just get it through, get it over the advantage line and get that pass away to keep the momentum going”. “Credit to Fiji, they put us under a lot of pressure”, he said.
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“Some of the guys from the bench really put their hands up and we have some big decisions for next week against Wales”, said Lancaster, who has eight days to recalibrate his players before facing their neighbours back at Twickenham.
