A fast-paced first half with some free-running rugby gave England a healthy lead going into half-time. In the second half the Barbarians' physicality and maturity proved too much for England.
England got off to a tremendous start with Henry Trinder popping over into the right-hand corner. Charlie Hodgson converted. Frederic Michalak put Benoit Baby in for a try; this suggested England were not going to be able to run away with the game against such experienced players. Michalak duly added the conversion. England 7 Barbarians 7
Charlie Hodgson popped over a penalty to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Ugo Monye then put through a chip ahead and pressurised Nicolas Jeanjean at the ruck. Monye won a turnover and squeezed over for a try. Hodgson again converted. England 17 Barbarians 7
England’s third try was a delightful combination between two Gloucester players. Captain Luke Narraway threw a dummy that Sergio Parisse bought and he fed James Simpson-Daniel. Simpson-Daniel still had plenty of work to do and stepped powerfully off his right side to side-step Ruan Pienaar. It was a fine finish by Simpson-Daniel who held his hand up for a possible plane ticket to New Zealand. Hodgson slotted the touchline conversion. England 24 Barbarians 7
The Barbarians increased the pressure on the young English side and Carl Fearns ended up being yellow-carded for an offense at the breakdown in his own 22. From the resulting 5 metre scrum Sackey was put in for a simple try in the corner, but Joe van Niekerk’s pass was deemed forward. Once again the scrum was under intense pressure with Ugo Monye filling in for Fearns on the flank. Paul Doran-Jones was given a tough time in the scrum by Salvatore Perugini and gave a way a penalty. In true Barbarian style, the men in black and white went quickly off the penalty; unfortunately they knocked the ball on. Sergio Parisse should have opted for another scrum as the referee was looking likely to be heading under the posts for a penalty-try.
England had avoided considerable pressure and Mike Brown made a scything break only for Paul Hodgson to gift a try to Frederic Michalak. He gave a pass that was never on and the French fly-half strolled over for the score. Michalak then converted his own try to make the score England 21- Barbarians 14.
Half Time: England 21- Barbarians 14.
England started the second half poorly with Matt Banahan trying to get over the gain-line unsuccessfully. He gave away a penalty. The Barbarians kicked to the corner. A few plays later Mathieu Bastareaud looked to have been through to score, however, Sergio Parrise’s pass was ruled forward.
Ugo Monye was helped off the field after a collision with Paul Sackey. Hopefully he will not be out for too long as he was hoping to push for a place in Martin Johnson’s World Cup squad.
Michalak opted for a cross-kick to nothing, Visser won the ball in the air and Simpson-Daniel could not make the tackle. Visser powered over to score in the scorner. The French no. 10 could not add the extras. The Barbarians showed their further physical ambition with the introduction of Seru Rabeni, Carl Hayman and Sabastien Bruno.
England won a penalty from the resulting re-start; however, Hodgson missed the penalty attempt to the left of the uprights. Joe van Niekerk made a powerful charge through the English defensive line, but knocked the ball on. The English scrum was demolished by the Barbarians. The Barbarians once again turned down a kick at goal. A few phases later with some considerable attacking pressure the highly-experienced Australian flanker George Smith popped over in the right-hand corner. This levelled the scores. The kick went wide. England 24 Barbarians 24
Another mistake from England gave the Barbarians a counter-attacking try. Michalak kicked on from a spilt ball and Simpson-Daniel was turned over on his 5 metre line. Joe van Niekerk barged over and Michalak was successful with the conversation attempt. England 24 Barbarians 31
On a sad note for England the young English prop Joe Marler was stretchered off the field. Hopefully this was just a precautionary measure and he will be back to full fitness soon. Paul Doran-Jones returned to the field of play.
England in the 1st 20 minutes of the second half had not once ventured into the Barbarian 22. England made a surge forward and won a penalty. Luke Narraway as Captain made the right decision to kick for goal, even if the Twickenham crowd felt otherwise. Hodgson narrowed the gap. England 27 Barbarians 31
Willie Mason made his 1st appearance as a Rugby Union player from the bench. The Barbarian back-line looked terrifyingly physical compared to some of the youngsters involved on the English side. Henry Trinder made a nice run up the left-wing only to be tackled highly by Rabeni. Rabeni was penalised and fortunate not to have been yellow-carded.
Stephen Myler, replacing Mike Brown made a clever chip over the defensive line. His kick was well caught by Banahan. However, England lost possession and the Barbarians cleared their line. Simpson-Daniel fielded the kick and made a delightful run back into Barbarian territory. Banahan and Gaskell charged forward, only for Sergio Parisse to give away a clear penalty near his own try line. This should have been an obvious yellow card with a try beckoning.
England took the penalty quickly and the ball was spread wide to Exeter’s Tom Johnson. Johnson’s deceptive pace and strength, combined with a convincing dummy to Charlie Hodgson took him over for his first try in England colours. Unfortunately Hodgson was unsuccessful with the conversion attempt, hitting the post. England 32 Barbarians 31 with six minutes remaining.
The young and inexperienced England side had fought themselves back into the lead. However, heartbreakingly for them, the Barbarians’ experience proved too much. They made an excellent break courtesy of Joe Tekori, who linked with van Niekerk. Van Niekerk was hauled down by Charlie Hodgson. Tim Visser was on hand to land the decisive blow. In the final act of the game Pienaar slotted the conversion.
Final Score England 32- Barbarians 38
My Man of the Match: Joe van Niekerk: Try scorer and excellent around the breakdown. His experience was vital.
English World Cup Prospects:
Luke Narrway led admirably and showed terrific attacking ability to set up his club mate for England’s third try. He would be a worthy addition to Martin Johnson’s squad.
James Simpson-Daniel is always a threat with the ball and his try was a finish that any World-class winger would have been proud of. He made one significant defensive error leading to Tim Visser’s first try. Otherwise he made a bold claim for a place. Martin Johnson will need to consider the fact that Chris Ashton, Mark Cueto and Ugo Monye have injury worries.
Matt Banahan did the basics well. He gave England forward momentum. I am still not convinced he is a centre. Perhaps he should remain on the wing and be looking to come in-field to use his size and strength in other ways.
Tom Johnson will be a certainty for the Churchill Cup squad. Further strong performances will give him a chance of a seat to New Zealand. However, injuries may have to be the deciding factor on whether he is taken to the World Cup. Martin Johnson has a very strong back-row contingent to choose from.
Henry Trinder played well and took his try-scoring opportunity when it came. However, he is not the finished article. Trinder is an excellent prospect for the future. He will be running rings around opponents in the Churchill Cup along with Charlie Sharples.
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