England off and running
Martin Johnson's reign as England coach has started with a 39-13 victory against the Pacific Islanders at Twickenham.
Last Updated: 08/11/08 5:04pm
Martin Johnson's reign as England coach has started with a 39-13 victory against the Pacific Islanders at Twickenham.
It was, in general, a positive statement of intent from Johnson's side at the start of the run of autumn internationals, with five tries being scored in all.
Paul Sackey touched down in both halves, with further scores coming from the returning Danny Cipriani, debutant Nick Kennedy and Lee Mears.
England displayed pace and invention but also showed a tendency towards naivety - particularly during the opening half - and their execution will need work ahead of sterner tests over the next three weekends.
However, Johnson's hands were tied, to a degree, by injuries and he will certainly be pleased by the performance of Kennedy and England's other debutants.
Delon Armitage and Ugo Monye looked particularly impressive, with the Harlequins winger displaying his athleticism to the full and the London Irish full-back picking up the man-of-the-match award for a confident contribution.
The Pacific Islanders had the better of the early possession, although an early penalty attempt from Pierre Hola fell short and a loose pass almost let in the flying Monye.
Cipriani converted a 35-metre effort after 10 minutes and England then started to put some phases together, 13 to be precise before Sackey fumbled an overlap pass.
However, the winger needed less than one minute to make amends with England's opening try, Sackey on the end of a flowing move initiated by Danny Care, with Tom Rees and Cipriani also involved before the breaking Armitage fed the ball inside to the number 14.
Howler
Cipriani converted but moments later he committed a howler: delaying a fraction too long with a clearance from the re-start, he was charged down by Seru Rabeni, the centre then mopping up.
Hola converted for 10-7 but the mid-period of the half lapsed into stalemate - England's backs in general looking dangerous but their pack not generating enough ball.
Care looked poised to increase England's lead after 27 minutes but, having done the hard work - booting the loose ball clear of the opposition's backpedalling last line - his attempt at a sliding finish instead saw him fail to ground.
A second Cipriani penalty in the 32nd minute placed England six points clear, with Nili Latu celebrating seconds later having thought he had brought the Pacific Islanders right back into it.
However, his try was disallowed after the back-rower was adjudged offside for picking the ball out of a ruck just short of England's line.
Cipriani scored England's second in the 37th minute but he had Monye to thank for it, the latter taking the ball from his fly-half deep in home territory, powering forward and stepping inside before handing it back.
The conversion was dispatched but, as with their first try, England switched off at the re-start and handed the Islanders good attacking position.
A second try did not follow but, with England hands having come in at the ruck, Hola kicked the resulting penalty for 20-10 at half-time.
The lead increased to 17 points four minutes into the second period, with Kennedy winning a line-out before running forward to touch down in support of the breaking Care, Cipriani converting.
Inroads
The Pacific Islanders looked to make inroads - Vilimoni Delasau coming closest after a superb take and dummy which left even Monye standing - with a penalty converted by Seremaia Bai in the 56th minute.
A comeback appeared unlikely but England, initially at least, also had trouble extending their lead - a diving Kameli Ratuvou intercepting Cipriani's cross-field kick before Monye.
Mears touched down with 12 minutes remaining - Cipriani converting - with Sackey subject to a high tackle from Semisi Naevo when doing the same in the right-hand corner in the 75th minute.
The video referee eventually decided the ball had been grounded, although Cipriani missed the subsequent conversion for the first time.
He was soon replaced by Toby Flood, with the closing minutes also seeing an international debut for Dylan Hartley.
