Inexperienced England down star-studded Barbarians
MATCH REPORT: A young England side, captained by Josh Beaumont beat the Barbarians 51-43 in a thrilling match at Twickenham.
In front of over 40,000 fans, the England side scored six tries in a fast-paced match.
England flyhalf Marcus Smith scored 26 points including a try, six conversions and three penalties as he recorded a 100 percent success rate from the kicking tee.
Alex Dombrandt was named England Rugby fans’ man of the match after some powerful carries and crossing the line twice.
England led a star-studded Barbarians side 31-12 at half-time, scoring four tries in an impressive first 40 minutes – all converted by Marcus Smith who also added a penalty.
Josh Bassett opened the scoring for England after 10 minutes after Johnny Williams pounced on a Barbarians error to set the Wasps flyer free to score down the left flank.
Barbarians captain James Horwill then found himself on the wing and when Colin Slade connected with a crossfield kick, he collected it and scored.
Springbok flanker then Francois Lowe crashed over from close range following a lineout and, with Slade adding the extras, give the Barbarians the lead for the first time.
England then produced three great tries to open up a sizeable lead at the break.
First, centre Joe Marchant made a jinking break and fed Alex Mitchell to burst through before the ball went through the hands of Ben Curry and Smith to find Simon Hammersley out wide to score.
Smith then added a try of his own after throwing a dummy and diving over from close range.
As half-time approached, Mitchell then intercepted a pass from the Barbarians lineout and off-loaded to Alex Dombrandt to score.
The home side started the second half full of confidence and scored first as Dombrandt gathered a loose pass and fed Williams to score.
The Barbarians fought back scoring two inside a minute as first Gloucester’s Mark Atkinson crossed and then Rhodri Williams went in following a break from Filipo Nakosi.
Smith added a penalty after an offside at the breakdown before Atkinson added his second after collecting an offload from Taqele Naiyaravoro.
Replacement hooker David Heffernan found himself at the back of a rolling maul to bring the Barbarians within three points after Brock James added the conversion.
However, Smith kicked another penalty before Dombrandt bundled over for his second and secure the win despite a late Naiyaravoro score.
Has this try sealed the deal? 💥#ENGvBAR #QuilterCup pic.twitter.com/E4YZ1XhmHJ
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 2, 2019
The scorers:
For England
Tries: Bassett, Hammersley, Smith, Dombrandt 2, Williams
Cons: Smith 6
Pens: Smith 3
For Barbarians
Tries: Horwill, Lowe, Atkinson 2, Williams, Heffernan, Naiyaravoro
Cons: Slade 3, James
England: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Piers O’Conor, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Alex Dombrandt, 5 Josh Beaumont (captain), 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Tom Ellis, 21 Ben White, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Ben Loader
Barbarians: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Malaka Fekitoa, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Steven Luatua, 4 James Horwill (captain), 3 John Afoa, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 David Heffernan, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Facundo Isa, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Brock James, 23 Filipo Nakosi.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Alex Ruiz (France), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Source: @EnglandRugby
