Much-needed win for England
A Jekyll and Hyde display from England saw them snatch their first win of the tour against the Australian Barbarians.
Last Updated: 15/06/10 5:26pm
A Jekyll and Hyde display from England saw them snatch their first win of the tour against the Australian Barbarians.
In a game that never really sparked into life, the tourists clinched a 15-9 win despite failing to match their encouraging first half display after the break.
Manager Martin Johnson will have been pleased with the scrum and lineout again, while the signs were there in the opening 40 minute that the backs could be as dominant.
Wasps centre Dominic Waldouck, in particular, looked impressive - but when he departed after the half-hour with an apparent knee injury, so too did England's attacking threat.
After the break, the play was disjointed and scrappy at best - with both sides guilty of needless mistakes. When England's backs did get the ball they either lacked invention, kicked away possession or knocked on.
But penalties from Charlie Hodgson (2) and Olly Barkley (3) were enough to see England home, despite three from Berrick Barnes.
A penalty after three minutes from Hodgson had got England on their way - and it seemed a try would soon follow as Dave Strettle, Matt Banahan and Waldouck all made good breaks.
The Australian defence held firm, though, and after missing an effort at goal, Hodgson made no mistake on 13 minutes to double the lead.
England continued to surge forward, working well behind their dominant pack - but despite the injection of more pace, they could not break through.
Waldouck did breach the first line of defence but Richard Wigglesworth was unable to gather his inside pass.
Scrappy
And in fact it was the hosts who almost got the opening try as first Barnes and then Kurtley Beale went close.
Barnes, a replacement for the injured Will Chambers, did get his side's first points with a penalty on 28 minutes.
The centre saw another effort sail wide before he levelled matters just before the break. In fact the Barbarians could have ended the half in front after Josh Valentine and Richard Wigglesworth clashed, however Barnes' long penalty effort dropped just short.
A scrappy start to the second half saw the hosts enjoy the greater possession but England tackled well - while their scrum was superb.
The Australians, on the other hand, attacked well in their backs - with Turner a constant threat down the left.
And it was Barnes who kicked the Barbarians into the lead on 51 minutes - although mistakes were starting to dominate both side's play.
As encouraging as the first half was for England, the second was a disappointment as they were too wasteful when they had the ball.
They did level matters on 62 minutes through Barkley, however the game failed to spark into life.
Beale went close again as he broke through a couple of tackles, while Cummins was denied by a good hit from Armitage.
But England's dominance in the scrum finally paid dividends as they were able to retake the lead with five minutes left. Referee Steve Walsh gave the Barbarians plenty of chances before awarding Barkley a kickable shot at goal.
And England made sure of the win in the dying minutes as Barkley held his nerve to slot the ball over from 45m after another collapsed scrum.
The Barbarians launched a couple of late raids in search of a try but England held out for a morale-boosting win.
