• Worrying Mako Vunipola injury mars victory
Ireland suffered burn-out in the warm-up. They faded in the heat as England scored a record number of points in the fixture and exceeded by two their previous highest winning margin. It was only 10 months ago that the Irish, having beaten New Zealand for the second time in two years, were being heralded as Europe’s leading contenders in the World Cup, but now they cannot look beyond finishing at the top of a group that includes the hosts and Scotland.
England were close to full strength for the first time this month and their formation showed the selection flux of the previous 18 months. There were only six starters from Ireland’s previous visit here, at the end of the 2018 Six Nations, and none of the three backs who remained was starting in the same position, including Owen Farrell who that day had been redeployed at fly-half following two straight defeats.
Written by Paul Rees at Twickenham
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/aug/24/england-ireland-rugby-world-cup-warm-up-match-report under the title “Joe Cokanasiga scores twice as England turn on power to crush Ireland”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
