England Saxons book place in Barclays Churchill Cup final

Fletcher’s Field, Toronto 

 Pictures by Jos Lagman (Rugby Canada)

England Saxons notched up five tries against a tough Irish outfit to secure their place in the Saturday’s Barclays Churchill Cup final.

A brace from wing Matt Banahan and one try apiece from Anthony Allen, Ugo Monye and Steff Armitage, together with two conversions were enough to give holders England their second pool victory and the chance to take on Scotland in Chicago next weekend for a record fourth title.

In sharp contrast to the fluid attack of their opening round victory, this time England’s second string were forced to dog it out against a much tougher opposition. “It wasn’t exactly the performance we’d hoped for but the boys impressed me out there,” said head coach Steve Bates. 

“The Irish were a rough and tough outfit and the breakdown got a bit messy at times but we showed our colours and by sticking at it, the opportunities came and we were able to take our chances.” 

Against a physical Irish resistance, England were forced to adapt the high tempo, offloading game plan they employed so successfully last week, instead relying on their dynamic ball carriers and mobile back row to apply the pressure.

Whilst Bob Casey’s men succeeded in containing England from first phase, it was a different story in open play as Bath Rugby’s outstanding full back Nick Abendanon fielded a barrage of kicks and masterminded several impressive counter attacks to earn the man of the match award.

It was Ireland drew first blood when centre Keith Earl collected a flat pass from fly half Johnny Sexton to slice through the English midfield.

But after soaking up the early pressure, England fought back in the second quarter, their aggressive tackling and effective tactical kicking creating three first half scores. 

The first came when Gloucester centre Allen collected a Lamb up-and-under and shrug off the midfield defence.  Paul Hodgson was on hand to recycle the ball wide to send waiting winger Matt Banahan over in the left corner.  Lamb’s conversion meant England nosed ahead 7-5 after 20 minutes. 

But moments later, an unconverted try on the half hour from London Irish flanker Steff Armitage, courtesy of a break from live wire Abendanon was cancelled out when Earls added his second after powering through some poor Saxons tackling.  Sexton this time made sure of adding the extras to level the scores at 12-12.

Losing Number 8 Tom Guest just before the break was a blow, but with Jordan Crane moving to his favoured position, replacement flanker Chris Robshaw wasted no time getting in the thick of it, stepping in to help halt an Irish charge for the line. 

Working their way out of their own 22, England powered forward, before Hodgson released Abendanon to jink his way through the tiring backline before feeding wing Ugo Monye.  Monye’s impressive turn of pace left his opposite number Brian Tuohy grasping at air as the Harlequins speedster sailed over to extend the scoreline to 17-12, with Lamb narrowly missing the tricky kick.

Abendanon also had a hand in Banahan’s second of the day. Rounding off an excellent team effort that stretched the width of the pitch after a short side break from the abrasive and ever present Jordan Crane, the full back’s pass sent his Bath team mate over by the left corner flag.

Centre Anthony Allen capped a solid performance with a try that ended Ireland’s hopes, collecting his own grubber kick to touch down as the game entered the final quarter. 

Although Crane went close in the closing minutes, the final word of the game went to Abendanon, who touched down after collecting his own midfield chip thanks to a lucky deflection off an Irish hand.  Replacement fly half Adrian Jarvis slotted the conversion before the final whistle confirmed England’s passage to the final with a 34-12 victory.

England Saxons: Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby)*; Ugo Monye (Harlequins), Ollie Smith (Leicester Tigers)*, Anthony Allen (Gloucester Rugby)*, Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby), Ryan Lamb (Gloucester Rugby), Paul Hodgson (London Irish)*; Alex Clarke (Bristol Rugby), George Chuter (Leicester Tigers, captain)*, Dave Wilson (Newcastle Falcons), George Skivington (London Wasps), Chris Jones (Sale Sharks)*, Jordan Crane (Leicester Tigers), Steffon Armitage (London Irish), Tom Guest (Harlequins)

Replacements: 16 Andy Titterrell (Gloucester Rugby)* for Chuter 75, 17 Jack Forster (Gloucester Rugby) for Clarke 40 mins (Clarke returned for Wilson 79), 18 Richard Blaze (Leicester Tigers) for Jones 57, 19 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins) for Guest 39, 20 Lee Dickson (Newcastle Falcons) for Hodgson 66, 21 Adrian Jarvis (Harlequins) for Lamb 75, 22 Ben Foden (Sale Sharks) for Monye 71

* Denotes capped player

Scorers:  Tries: Earls 2 Conversions: Sexton Penalties: None

Sin binned: None

Referee: Andrew McPherson (Scotland)

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