CLINICAL ENGLAND XV OVERRUN BARBARIANS
England 73 Barbarians 12
Christian Wade scorched over for a hat-trick and Danny Cipriani racked up 33 points as Stuart Lancaster’s England XV saw off the Barbarians 73-12 at Twickenham.
Wade’s treble complemented a brace for Cipriani and further scores from Marland Yarde, Ed Slater, Jack Clifford Henry Slade and Josh Beaumont in a clinical, 10-try performance.
The Barbarians managed close-range replies either side of half-time through Brad Thorn, on his final appearance in professional rugby, and Thomas Waldrom.
However, although the invitational outfit began the game on the front foot following some patient phase-play, they were comprehensively overrun.
Exeter Chiefs duo Slade and Luke Cowan-Dickie celebrated their inclusion in England’s 50-man training squad for the Rugby World Cup with influential displays. Indeed, they sparked the victory with just 10 minutes on the clock.
Slade floated a long pass out to the left, allowing Cowan-Dickie to charge into space. The hooker then drew South Africa full back Gio Aplon before putting Yarde in the clear.
Alongside Toulon wing David Smith, Waldrom was a bright spark for the Barbarians and caused problems thanks to some typically dynamic carrying.
His charge paved the way for Thorn to barge over from close range, posting an instant reply for the visitors.
Waldrom was shown a yellow card not long after a Cipriani penalty had made it 10-5 though, referee George Clancy sending him to the sin bin for tackling England skipper Lee Dickson without the ball.
Directing proceedings wonderfully, Cipriani sent the ball into touch and a muscular driving maul carried Slater, outstanding in just a second senior appearance in a white shirt, across the line.
Harlequins back-rower Clifford, one of many England Under 20 graduates on show, was hurtling himself into collisions on the gain-line throughout a ding-dong openside tussle with Wallaby great George Smith. Despite getting through some fearful work in defence, he was next to dot down.
Joe Launchbury charged down the left wing, the ball was recycled Elliot Daly’s gliding outside arc and deft pass put Clifford in the clear a quarter of an hour before the break.
The next 15 minutes saw England rip off the shackles, Wade first completing a well-worked try after Leicester Tigers full back Mat Tait had darted into the line and fed Yarde, who aimed a neat grubber infield.
The Wasps wing swooped to pick up and score a predatory try and also demonstrated some robust defence in a couple of one-on-one situations against good friend Ugo Monye.
When Wade made it two in four minutes, Yarde was again the creator, slicing through from a first-phase and firing a long pass out to his fellow wide man.
Cipriani was in flawless form from the tee, and when he landed England’s sixth try on the stroke of half-time – capitalising from a ruck turnover tireless loosehead prop Matt Mullan – his personal tally was up to 20 featuring six conversions, Lancaster’s charges 45-5 in front.
The superb Slade latched onto a Cowan-Dickie offload for number seven barely 60 seconds into the second stanza and though clubmate Waldrom shunted through for a retort, the contest was long over.
Beaumont was assisited by a through-the-legs pass from replacement Shane Geraghty on the left flank and Wade fumbled one easy chance before completing his hat-trick in the final 10 minutes as the Barbarians grew weary.
Thorn departed the scene early on his last match, seeing yellow with nine minutes remaining but receiving a standing ovation from the Twickenham crowd.
Fittingly, Cipriani had the final word with England’s 10th. The Sale Shark added the extras for a perfect kicking return and the man-of-the-match gong.
On an afternoon that showcased the phenomenal strength in depth of English Rugby, there were eye-catching displays from Newcastle Falcons flanker Mark Wilson and Northampton Saints-bound tighthead Kieran Brookes, while James Gaskell brought athleticism and energy from the bench.
The 50-man training squad convenes on 22 June at Pennyhill Park, when competition for the 31-strong party really ratchets up.
England
15 Mathew Tait (Leicester Tigers), 14 Christian Wade (Wasps), 13 Elliot Daly (Wasps), 12 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), 11 Marland Yarde Harlequins), 10 Danny Cipriani (Sale Sharks), 9 Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints, captain); 1 Matt Mullan (Wasps), 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), 3 Kieran Brookes (Newcastle Falcons), 4 Ed Slater (Leicester Tigers), 5 Joe Launchbury (Wasps), 6 Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons), 7 Jack Clifford (Harlequins), 8 Josh Beaumont (Sale Sharks)
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor (Sale Sharks), 17 Alex Waller (Northampton Saints), 18 Gareth Denman (Northampton Saints), 19 James Gaskell (Wasps), 20 Jon Fisher (Northampton Saints), 21 Will Chudley (Exeter Chiefs), 22 Shane Geraghty (London Irish), 23 Alex Lewington (London Irish)
Scorers
Tries: Wade 3, Cipriani 2, Yarde, Slater, Clifford, Slade, Beaumont
Conversions: Cipriani 10
Penalty: Cipriani
Barbarians
15 Gio Aplon (Grenoble and South Africa),14 David Smith (Toulon), 13 Joe Rokocoko (Bayonne and New Zealand), 12 Wynand Olivier (Montpellier and South Africa), 11 Ugo Monye (Harlequins and England), 10 Tusi Pisi (Suntory Sungoliath and Samoa), 9 Tomas Cubelli (Belgrano Ath and Argentina); 1 Saimone Taumoepeau (Castres and New Zealand), 2 David Ward (Harlequins), 3 Matias Diaz (Pampas and Argentina), 4 Samu Manoa (Northampton Saints and USA), 5 Brad Thorn (Leicester Tigers and New Zealand, captain), 6 George Whitelock (Panasonic Wild Knights and New Zealand), 7 George Smith (Lyon and Australia), 8 Thomas Waldrom (Exeter Chiefs and England).
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie (Lyon), 17 Roberto Tejerizo (Tucuman and Argentina), 18 Adam Jones (Cardiff Blues and Wales), 19 Nathan Hines (Sale Sharks and Scotland), 20 Pablo Matera (Pampas and Argentina), 21 Ruan Pienaar (Ulster and South Africa), 22 Stephen Brett (Lyon), 23 Yoshi Fujita (Panasonic Wild Knights and Japan)
Scorers
Tries: Thorn, Waldrom
Conversion: Pisi
Yellow cards: Waldrom, Thorn.
Courtesy of RFU
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