England Saxons WIN Barclay's Churchill Cup from Maori

England Saxons 17 - 13 NZ Maori

A 73rd minute try from galloping lock Tom Croft sealed victory for England Saxons as they defeated holders the New Zealand Maori to lift the Barclay's Churchill Cup for the second time in three years.    Despite an excellent kicking record going into the final, Maori fly half Tamati Ellison missed four first half kicks and it was only a try from centre Jason Kawau that kept the kiwi in touch at the break.

Said a delighted Jim Mallinder, England Saxons coach, “This has capped a fantastic three weeks for us. We’ve come together as a team and proven we can play whatever style of rugby we need to win.  “Throughout the tournament we’ve been saying how important the whole squad will be and how we need all seven subs to come on a do a job.  “Today we did that and I was especially impressed by the youngster coming on in the front row. It’s not the first time I’ve seen Tom Croft outpace opposition backs!   “A good few players here must have put their hands up for selection for Brian Ashton’s Rugby World Cup training squad.”

Forwards coach Dorian West added, “It’s been an awesome team performance from every one of them for the full three weeks, throughout every training session and every match. The win was a big on for captain Neal Hatley, he’s been a honest and loyal player and he deserves to finish with a win.”

A 18th minute try from England Saxons winger Paul Sackey was all that separated the teams for most of the first half. New Zealand missed three chances to narrow the gap when fly half Tamati Ellison failed to hit the target with three penalties.

But things changed when the Saxons lost open-side flanker Will Skinner to the sin bin. Having enjoyed the lion’s share of possession for the first quarter, they were forced on to the back foot as the Maori forwards drove repeated for the line. But having maintained their clean sheet whilst a man down, within a minute of Skinner’s return, a long range run from Maori captain Rua Tipoki fed wing Anthony Tahana Skinner’s who crossed in the left hand corner to record the first try of the tournament against the home team. This time Ellison’s kick found the woodwork but it wasn’t close enough to level the scores and England went into the break with their noses ahead.

Ellison finally hit the target in the second half, slotting an early penalty but England hit straight back when Skinner, keen to make amends, won his team a midfield scrum from the restart and the home team moved it through the hands to Voyce who crossed untouched in the right corner.   The Maori hit back with a try from centre Kawau but Ellison’s replacement Callum Bruce also failed with the boot, leaving England with a one point lead going in to the last quarter.

After a flurry of subs, London Wasps’ full back Danny Cipriani almost provided the crucial try but after a 70m counter attack he was finally hauled down just short of the line and Skinner, who was voted Barclay's Man of the Match, couldn’t quite hold on to the offload. But England kept their calm and with just seven minutes to go, Olly Barkley capped an outstanding game to put Croft away down the right touchline for the final score of the game.

England Saxons

15 Danny Cipriani (London Wasps), 14 Paul Sackey (London Wasps), 13 Kevin Sorrell (Saracens), 12 Nils Mordt (London Irish) rep by 22 Ayoola Erinle (London Wasps) 53mins, 11 Tom Voyce (London Wasps), 10 Olly Barkley (Bath Rugby), 9 Richard Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks) blood rep by 21 Lee Dickson (Newcastle Falcons) 66mins, 1 Neal Hatley (London Irish, captain) rep by 18 Tom Mercey (Saracens) 28mins, 2 David Paice (London Irish) rep by 16 Matt Thompson (Newcastle Falcons) 66mins, 3 John Brooks (Northampton Saints) rep by 17 Jack Forster (Gloucester Rugby) 60mins, 4 Richard Blaze (Worcester Warriors) rep by 19 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers) 53mins, 5 Jim Evans (NEC Harlequins), 6 James Haskell (London Wasps) rep by 20 Jordan Crane (Leicester Tigers) 60mins, 7 Will Skinner (NEC Harlequins) sin bin 25-35, 8 Phil Dowson (Newcastle Falcons)

New Zealand Maori 1 Craig West, 2 Aled de Malamanche rep by 16 Luke Mahoney 66mins, 3 Tui Hoani rep by 17 Keith Cameron 71mins, 4 Kristian Ormsby, 5 Hayden Triggs, 6 Angus MacDonald, 7 Tanerau Latimer rep by 19 Scott Waldrom 57mins, 8 Warren Smith, 9 Chris Smylie, 10 Tamati Ellison blood rep by 21 Calum Bruce 53-67mins, 11 Anthony Tahana rep by 22 Pehi Te Whare 60mins, 12 Rua Tipoki (captain) rep by 10 Tamati Ellison 67mins, 13 Jason Kawau, 14 Hosea Gear, 15 Shannon Paku. Unused Replacements: 18 Isaac Ross, 20 James Rodley

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