Danny Cipriani in action for England against the Crusaders
England outscored the Crusaders by six tries to one to cruise to a comfortable 38-7 victory in Christchurch on Tuesday.
It was their first win on their tour of New Zealand in their first-ever clash with the seven-time Super Rugby champions following narrow defeats in both Tests against the All Blacks so far.
The fluent performance against a Crusaders side boasting six All Blacks will certainly give England coach Stuart Lancaster some interesting food for thought ahead of the final Test in Hamilton this weekend.
Flyhalf Danny Cipriani staked a claim for inclusion in England’s side for the third Test with a brief but influential performance.
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A knee injury which has ruled Owen Farrell out leaves Cipriani in competition for the No 10 jersey with Freddie Burns, who played in the first Test in Auckland when Farrell was unavailable.
Burns may be the frontrunner for the role but Cipriani’s performance in England’s win in a rare midweek tour match gives the touring selectors pause for thought. He was subbed just after half-time but his slick passing played a role in first-half tries to hooker Joe Gray and fullback Alex Goode.
England scored six tries in total including four in the first half through Gray, Goode, winger Ben Foden and center Brad Barritt, but only two, to wing Anthony Watson and replacement Chris Pennell, in the second half, and after Cipriani left the field.
The 29-year-old Stephen Myler, who took over from Cipriani in his first senior start for England, was also impressive, creating Watson’s try with a skilful slipped pass and adding the conversion.
The England side, technically a second string and excluding players in line for third-Test selection, kept up the high standards the tourists have set in New Zealand. They were technically sound at set-pieces, they attacked with fluency and imagination, they competed for possession with physicality and skill, and defended with strength and co-ordination.
Their comprehensive win over the Crusaders, who are seven-time Super Rugby champions but who were without up to 12 frontline players, was an impressive indication of the depth England possesses.
“We spoke about it during the week, there are a lot of frustrated guys who haven’t had the chance to play in the tests so this was our opportunity to play,” England captain Ed Slater said. “A lot of our focus has been on this game; we prepared well and we executed well.”
The Crusaders sometimes stretched England when they held the ball and were able to lift the pace of the game but their periods in possession were too infrequent, and their play too littered with handling errors.
England played generally at a more measured pace but they were given a mobile platform through their forwards as players such as Slater and props Henry Thomas and Alex Waller carried strongly.
Their backs also ran with purpose and showed an outstanding ability to finish, through accurate passing, when tryscoring opportunities arose.
Gray scored England’s opening try within two minutes of the kickoff and after sustained England pressure. Cipriani slipped a tackle to unlock the Crusaders defense and passed infield to Gray.
Foden scored five minutes later, showing great skill to control a ball which seemed to be heading into touch and to outflank the defence.
Barritt scored in the 29th minute and Goode added England’s fourth try six minutes from halftime after Cipriani threw an accurate long ball in midfield.
England took 18 minutes to add to its total after half-time but their fifth try came when Myler’s pass set Watson on a long run to the line, eluding three defenders. The tourists showed their ability to play the full 80 minutes, by adding a try to Pennell after the full-time siren.
England was due to be based in Christchurch during the 2011 World Cup but a devastating earthquake in February of that year ruined Christchurch’s rugby stadium and prevented any matches being played in the South Island city.
Tuesday’s match, the first between the Crusaders and an international team, was partly designed to make up for that forced absence. The jerseys worn by England players will be auctioned for a charity benefiting earthquake victims.
Scorers:
Crusaders:
- Try: Matt Todd (1)
- Con: Tom Taylor (1)
England:
- Tries: Joe Gray (1), Ben Foden (1), Brad Barritt (1), Alex Goode (1), Anthony Watson (1), Chris Pennell (1)
- Cons: Danny Cipriani (3), Stephen Myler (1)
Teams:
Crusaders: 15 Tom Taylor, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Reynold Lee-Lo, 12 Kieron Fonotia, 11 Nafi Tuitavake, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 George Whitelock (Captain), 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Joel Everson, 4 Jimmy Tupou, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Tim Perry
Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Andy Ellis, 22 Adam Whitelock, 23 Rob Thompson.
England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Ben Foden, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Anthony Watson, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Tom Johnson, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 James Haskell, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Ed Slater (Captain), 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Alex Waller
Replacements: 16 David Ward, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Richard Wigglesworth, 21 Stephen Myler, 22 Jonny May, 23 Chris Pennell.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Lees (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)