England made a sloppy start off the kick
off with George Lowe going offside ahead of Danny Care’s clearance. This gave
the South African Barbarians a chance to go to the corner. From a second
line-out the Barbarians drove England over the line with ease with number 8 Jacques
Engelbrecht barging over the line. Elgar
Watts could not add the extras the first time, but, there was an early charge.
With the second attempt, Watts was able to make it a dream start for the
Barbarians. SA Barbarians South 7 England 0
After England’s first foray in to the South
African half, Charlie Hodgson disappointingly went for the posts with a
penalty. It demonstrated how seriously Stuart Lancaster’s men were taking their
opponents. SA Barbarians South 7 England 3
Care gave a questionable pass which was
intercepted and David Bulbring kicked the ball up the pitch. Hodgson managed to
dive on the ball, but the ball went forward in the ruck. The Barbarians were
given a 5 metre scrum and gave away a penalty from the set piece. The
Barbarians went for another line-out and put pressure on England. Luckily the
South Africans knocked the ball on and from the scrum England was awarded a
penalty and Hodgson cleared the ball in to touch.
Care put pressure on the Barbarian defence
with some clever sniping around the fringes and England was awarded a penalty
from 38 metres out. Hodgson showed his experience and composure with a
controlled strike through the posts. SA Barbarians South 7 England 6
A flat pass from Care was judge forward, a
questionable call, but it prevented Thomas Waldrom from putting Christian Wade
in for a walk in try.
England stole a line-out after an excellent
kick from Hodgson and Waldrom charged through three weak tackle attempts and
got the ball down to open England’s try scoring account. Hodgson added the extras;
Lancaster was hoping the floodgates would open. SA Barbarians South 7 England
13
Care redeemed himself for his early errors
with a delicate kick ahead for Wade, who calmly collected the ball and dotted
down in the corner as England asserted their authority on the game. Hodgson
could not add the conversion from the left hand touchline. SA Barbarians South
7 England 18
A simple strike move gave Jordan
Turner-Hall the chance to put Lowe in for a try under the posts, the SA
Barbarians were no where to be seen in defence. Hodgson added the conversion,
SA Barbarians South 7 England 25
The South African Barbarians managed to put
England under real pressure with ten minutes remaining in the half. England
gave away several penalties and George Robson, the Captain was warned, but
James Haskell was given a yellow card for another offence at the ruck.
With England a man down, the Barbarians
went through the phases and Hannes Franklin, the hooker barged through some unconvincing
defence around the ruck to score their second try. The try stopped the rout and
made the score line look more respectable in the first half. Watts added the
conversion to close the gap. With five minutes left, the score was South Africa
Barbarians South 14 England 25
Half time South Africa Barbarians South 14
England 25. England will have been disappointed not to have scored more and to
have let in two soft tries. The second half would open up more with the
Barbarians likely to struggle with England’s fitness and power.
Lancaster made just one substitution at the
break, he took off Alex Goode and brought on Nick Abendanon who has just
recently joined the tour party following Mike Brown’s unfortunate thumb injury.
This hints at the likelihood of Goode playing some part in the 2nd
test on Saturday.
The first substitution was tactical, but
soon after the whistle blew to start the second half George Lowe twisted his
knee awkwardly. This meant Lee Dickson had to come on in his place out of
position on the right wing.
It did not take long for Abendanon to make
an impact, he picked a perfect line off Care who took a quick tap penalty and
charged up to the 22 metre line. Hodgson then chipped ahead for Wade, but it
drifted in to touch.
England put the ball wide after Waldrom
made a big charge through the South African defence. Abendanon once again
looked dangerous and England was held up short of the try line. From the five
metre scrum, Waldrom picked up off the back and drove towards the line. The
decision went to the TMO and the try was awarded to give the Leicester power
house his second try of the game. Hodgson pushed the tough kick to the right of
the posts. South Africa Barbarians South 14 England 30
After solid initial defence from Anthony
Allen and Nick Abendanon, the Barbarians scored their third try courtesy of
Norman Nelson after the play broke up. The opportunistic try was finished under
the posts and Watts added the easy two points. South Africa Barbarians South 21
England 30
England’s defence was not good enough at
times, but credit to the Barbarians, who gave England a very good game. The
South Africans were leading the possession and territory statistics around the
sixty minute mark.
Stuart Lancaster’s side bounced back
straight away with simple passes from right to left and a deft pop pass from
Allen put in Graham Kitchener for an easy try. Hodgson hit the post with the
conversion attempt. South Africa Barbarians South 21 England 35
England survived another scare with Allen
picking up a lose ball and offloading intelligently to put Wade in for his
second try in the match un-opposed under the posts. Hodgson was grateful for
another simple kick added the conversion. South Africa Barbarians South 21 England 42
After England blew a near certain try
scoring chance, Watts spread the ball wide from inside his own 22 and Ntabeni
Dukisa chance to out pace Wade and score his side’s fourth try of the game.
Watts could not add the extras, but the Barbarians will be pleased with their
valiant effort. South Africa Barbarians South 26 England 42
With les than ten minutes to go, Care put
in another clever kick for Allen to chase behind the Barbarians’ defence;
however, the Leicester centre knocked the ball on before grounding the ball.
Care managed to dive over for a try with
minutes remaining after Hodgson blew a good try scoring opportunity. This added
some gloss to the score line and his performance gives Lancaster a selection
headache. Hodgson added the simple conversion. South Africa Barbarians South 26
England 49
Allen made a break but selfishly did not
give the ball with Abendanon and Dickson outside him. The ball was turned over
and the Barbarians cleared the ball to just outside their 22 metre line. Wade looked to score a hat trick, but was
hauled down just before the line.
However, with the last play of the game the Wasps flier managed to
scamper his way over the line to claim the match ball with an impressive
hat-trick. Hodgson could not add the extras, but the two points were
irrelevant.
Full
Time: South Africa Barbarians South 26 England 54
Man of the Match: Thomas Waldrom (ENG) the Leicester No.8 was in fantastic form, he
took his two tries well and was always going forward with ball in hand. Charlie Hodgson and Christian Wade also had
good games, but Stuart Lancaster would have wanted more consistency and
composure from his side. England gave away too many penalties in the game and
this will be punished against South Africa in the second test.
Have you got any thoughts or comments? Do
you think anyone put their hand up for a place in the 22 this weekend? Message
below or post a comment to me on twitter @tommyd91
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