England kick way to Tonga win in World Cup opener but errors suggest work to be done still
If there was any doubt as to why England leant heavily on their kicking game on Sunday, it quickly became apparent from the physical might that Tonga provided in their Rugby World Cup opener in Japan.
Early on in England’s victory, while the scores were still level, Tonga flanker Zane Kapeli collided with Billy Vunipola in a tackle that sent shudders around the Sapporo Dome.
It is not often the England No8, whose father captained Tonga at the 1999 World Cup, is sent backwards. But on this occasion he was, to a roar of defiance from the Pacific Islanders.
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Their stand against England would not last long, though, as Eddie Jones’s side began to move through the gears, scoring their first try through Manu Tuilagi after 23 minutes to take an 8-3 lead.
It was a moment of individual quality from the outside centre as he sidestepped one tackle and bulldozed his way through two more to touch the ball down.
England had been denied a try just a minute earlier when Sam Underhill was held up, but the team posed an increasing threat as they kicked in behind to put Tonga on the back foot before then charging them down.
The chase has become a key part of England’s game and it worked effectively in Sunday’s match with Jones opting to start both of his best distributors, George Ford and Owen Farrell, in the 10-12 axis.
The pair often interchanged between first and second receiver and found space with kicks into the opposition half – as did Ben Youngs, who regularly chose to box kick.
No one made more kicks than the scrum-half during this year’s Six Nations and it is a trend that looks set to continue.
England frequently found themselves regain possession further up the pitch by turning the ball over at breakdowns or line-outs, rather than trying to build through phases and beat Tonga for physicality.
“Tonga are a very physical team, to give them targets to hit would have played into their hands,” Farrell said after the match. “I thought we chased well and got some opportunities off the back of it.
“There’s still some mistakes that we can look at and get better at, but that’s the exciting thing, we’ve still got a lot more in us.”
Work to do
Despite the comfortable victory, it was a far from perfect performance from England who took until 77 minutes to get a fourth try and important bonus point against a side that lost 92-7 to New Zealand in their final warm-up match.
This was of course a different stage and England did what was required, but Jones will have plenty to discuss with his players after they conceded 10 penalties and made 13 unforced handling errors.
Four of those penalties were conceded at breakdowns inside the opening 20 minutes before a fifth on the 25th minute that gave Tonga the opportunity to make it 8-6. They would have but for a missed kick by Sonatane Takulua.
It was a mistake born out of indecision from Maro Itoje and saw Jones repeatedly whack his desk – as was shown live on television around the stadium on the coach’s return to Japan.
England stepped it up a level on 30 minutes. Using the skill of their back line, they spread the ball out to Farrell and Ford before a deft pass from Elliot Daly set Jonny May clear, who offloaded it back inside to Tuilagi for his second of the match.
A conversion and two penalties from Farrell before half-time gave England a 21-3 lead and the four points, but it took second-half tries from hookers Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie – one from a driving maul and the other a breakaway – to earn the bonus point.
The job was complete, but, as is perhaps to be expected at this stage, England are not yet firing on all cylinders.