Rugby World Cup
ENGLAND 36 - 20 TONGA
Match Review by Ed Budge
28 September 2007 - Parc Des Princes, Paris

England booked their place in the quarter-finals of this World Cup with a 36-20 win over Tonga on Friday night with a performance that, while far from eye-catching, was effective enough to elicit thoughts that the squad’s time in France between now and Saturday’s clash with Australia is more than a stay of execution.

Paul Sackey proved influential once again, acquiring a brace of tries for the second successive match while the midfield equivalent of chalk and cheese, Mathew Tait and Andy Farrell, completed the victory with second half touchdowns.

Apprehension and fear stalked the England side before kick-off, and even the Tongan Haka – delivered from within touching distance and containing copious amounts of eye-balling and pointing, a few afterwords and possibly even some spitting – could not detract from the obvious, that England would surely be their own worst enemies were they to crash out of the tournament before the knock-out stages.

In all honesty, things did not start well for the World Champions. After Lewis Moody embarked upon another slice of maniacal self-sacrifice, taking a knee to the face whilst attempting to charge down a Tongan clearance, England conceded the first penalty and eventually the first try. The Islanders established their gameplan early on with Finau Maka and Epi Taione running hard around the fringes and into England’s midfield; a tactic that brought them great joy for much of the first half. Bigger men than Barkley, Tait and Wilkinson will miss these physical anomalies in the tackle, but it was a night that the trio may care to forget, defensively.

Indeed, it was a half-break from Taione, powering far enough through Wilkinson to offload to his centre partner Sukanaivalu Hufanga, which lead to the Tongan try. Hufanga brilliantly sidestepped Mark Cueto and the upended Josh Lewsey, who lost his footing on the slippery Parc des Princes turf which was to help Hufanga slide over from 5 metres out, despite the presence of Barkley on his back.

It is greatly to England’s credit (a sentence to which I am hardly accustomed these days) that they struck back so swiftly. After a decent passage of play, Wilkinson found himself with a penalty around the Tongan 22, but instead of taking a simple 3 points the fly-half spotted Sackey in space on the far touchline. The cross-kick was miraculously gathered by Sackey, already on his knees, within a yard of the dead ball line, and touched down. It was the jewel in the crown of the night of England’s newest hero, and a diamond in the rough of an otherwise mediocre night for Wilkinson, who missed the conversion.

England were still trailing 8-10 at this point, and to the end of rectifying the problem, Barkley and Wilkinson each tried their luck with simple drop goals. The latter being more successful than the former, whose open goal miss was microcosmic of a poor evening’s work. Brian Ashton’s charges found themselves with a considerable territorial advantage in the second quarter, and a further penalty followed from Wilkinson before Sackey’s second.

With Tonga on the attack, a shocking pass from Pierre Hola was repeatedly knocked on and fumbled by the Tongans, each resembling a blind man chasing a chicken. Sackey pounced on the loose chicken and without a second glance or thought headed for the line. His sixth sense for the whitewash and his considerable pace over 75 metres are making him quite an asset to England, and established for them a 19-10 lead at the break.

The second half echoed its predecessor, inasmuch as its first significant act was for Moody to hit the deck with a Tongan body-part lodged in his face. This time it was in receiving a Wilkinson pass akin to catching a baby on a train track; you’ve got to make the catch by my goodness are you in trouble afterwards. Nili Latu, the openside about whom I will be having nightmares for some time, crashed into Moody with a tackle that was a little high, a little airborne and a little too reliant on the Tongan’s forehead, but not enough of any of the above to warrant a yellow card from Alain Rolland. A penalty did result, however, but Wilkinson missed from 40 metres.

A bizarre incident followed involving Nick Easter, who was having the best game of his short England career. Carrying the ball inside his own half, the No. 8 attempted a chip over Latu which went fully 2 yards before being re-gathered by its perpetrator. The chip was either so horrendous that Easter simply got lucky or (and having seen the replays, this is my personal opinion) it was brimming with such audacity and outrageous perspicacity that Carlos Spencer himself would neither have tried nor succeeded in such a feat. Easter burst through the gap created by sheer confusion, but the counter-attack came to nothing.

Tonga pulled three points back in the 53rd minute with a simple penalty after a spell inside England’s half, for which they would have received greater reward but for a superb defensive scrum by the men in white which extinguished the Pacific fire at its most luminous. Farrell had by now replaced Barkley in the midfield.

Now comes the $64,000 question. Why, oh why, does it invariably take England an hour to start playing any rugby? In game after game, fans sit through 60 minutes of turgid dross and 20 minutes of somthing approaching adventure. In this case, the pressure was relieved by England's 56th minute score.Cueto executed a delightful shimmy to elude the defence, and with one man to beat, failed to spot the two teammates lined up outside him. Fortunately, England recycled, and although the sight of George Chuter throwing miss passes from first receiver filled few with confidence, the ball found its way to Easter who ran a beautiful line and fed Tait, who ran a better one to score. Moments earlier, it was Tait who had etsablished the pace that England would apply to the game from hereon, insouciantly drifting off a miss pass and flying through the space he had created. Wilkinson converted to put the game very nearly out of Tonga's reach.

It finally escaped their clutches when Farrel crossed for his first England try, prompting unprecedented levels of aggressive mirth under the posts. With England well inside the opposition 22 after Tait, Moody and Sheridan had established a position on the opposite flank, Wilkinson and Farrell looked to execute a loop only for the defence to part in front of the Saracens man, who spotted the gap quickly and coasted in. In was a proud moment for Farrell, and a redeeming way to score, he having been guilty of a couple of 'head down' moments earlier on.

From then on, a second Wilkinson drop goal and Hale T'Pole's consolation score were all that remained to trouble the scorers, but with the result no longer in doubt it was Lee Mears' exptic spin-and-sprint routine that caught the eye. The Bath hooker became the final member of the intial 30-man party to take the field in the tournament when he replaced Chuter.

Tonga have had a magnificent tournament. One that will be overshadowed by the achievements of Argentina and Fiji, but a superb effort nonetheless. But, without wanting to set the bar too high, 16 points is a smaller margin that that by which England put paid to France and South Africa four years ago. Australia will be an entirely different proposition, and it would be foolish to think that we can shut out the Aussies as an attacking force. What still looms over Ashton and England after this performance is what they are not doing. Still. Protection of the ball and a lack of width foremost amongst the concerns; did anybody notice Cueto, Lewsey or Sackey getting many chances to run from phase ball? The back row and the midfield will again be hot topics come selection time, and I would be disappointed if Toby Flood could not find himself a place somewhere in the 22. We have seen glimpses of what Sackey and Tait can do when given the chance, and more than once per game would be nice, thank you.

So, so long Tonga. See you again after the IRB have spent another four years ignoring you, and anyone else struggling to get anything done in the shadows cast by the irrepressible blinkers of the higher powers. For England, another step in the right direction. But as many have said, it might be about 3 years too late.

Now, at the end of a review this long, I wouldn't normally do player ratings, but I was so disenchanted by those in The Independent that I felt compelled to do so.

Josh Lewsey - 6.5. Given little opportunity to shine in open play. Powerless to prevent Tonga's two scores.
Paul Sackey - 9. England's new hero now has a set of International tries boasting considerable variety. Didn't put a foot wrong.
Mathew Tait - 7. Struggled at times with the pysicality of the Tongan runners, but showed flashes of effortless attacking potential. Good finish for his try, but needs more similar chances.
Olly Barkley - 5. Not a good night for the centre. Dropped off too many tackles, and missed a sitter of a drop goal.
Mark Cueto - 6.5. Struggled to look threatening on the counter-attack, but was reasonably reliable elsewhere.
Jonny Wilkinson - 5.5. Missed three kicks and one crucial tackle. Did not provide opportunites for the dangerous runners outside him. But, kicked two good drop goals and maintained a calm, consistent tempo to the game throughout.
Andy Gomarsall - 6.5. Sharper at the base than many have been before him, but prone to lapses of concentration and technique.
Andrew Sheridan - 7.  No penalties in the front row, and a powerful loose game to match solid scrummaging.
George Chuter - 6. Quiet in the loose but for one crucial knock on near the line which undermined a solid day in the tight areas.
Matt Stevens - 7.5. Seemed to be all over the park, on both sides of the ball. Substituted for Vickery's benefit, not the team's.
Steve Borthwick - 6.5. Unlucky not to make more clean steals at the line-out, but was certainly a nuisance to Tonga's locks all evening.
Ben Kay - 6. Managed England's line-out well, but otherwise quiet.
Martin Corry - 6. Fairly anonymous, but his captaincy could be credited for his team's composure after twice falling behind.
Lewis Moody - 7. Played as only he can; chasing and harrying to the point of madness. Could have been more of a force at the breakdown.
Nick Easter - 8. Pipped for MOTM by Sackey's brace, but carried and offloaded with zest. Possibly lacking some control at the base of the scrum.

England (19) 36
Tries: Sackey 2, Tait, Farrell
Cons: Wilkinson 2
Pens: Wilkinson 2
Drop-goals: Wilkinson 2

Tonga (10) 20
Tries: Hufanga, Pole
Cons: Hola 2
Pens: Hola 2

England: Lewsey; Sackey, Tait, Barkley, Cueto; Wilkinson, Gomarsall; Sheridan, Chuter, Stevens, Borthwick, Kay, Corry (capt), Moody, Easter
Replacements: Mears, Vickery, Dallaglio, Worsley, Richards, Farrell, Hipkiss.

Tonga: Lilo; Tu'ifua, Hufanga, Taione, Vaka; Hola, Tu'ipulotu; Tonga'uiha, Lutui, Pulu, Vaki, Fa'aoso, Pole, Latu (capt), Maka
Replacements: Taukafa, Taufa'ao Filise, Molitika, Afeaki, Havea, Huson Tonga'uiha, Havili.