Here are five takeaways from England A's 91-5 victory over Portugal at Mattioli Wood Welford Road.
top line
England won 91-5 against Portugal thanks to strong forward play, a result that would be the envy of any cricket team.
Harlequins winger Kaydan Marley bagged an easy hat-trick and 15 tries from 11 other players in an impressive team performance said it all.
England's performance was based on strong close running and carries through the front and back rows, while Portugal were intent on stopping the wave of short carriers and, in time-honored tradition, for the likes of Murray and Josh. Created acres of space. Hodge and Max Ojomo having fun with the ball in their hands.
Here's a fun tip from Charlie Atkinson @bathrugbyMax Ojomo is crossing the line 🙌
England Men's A led Portugal 50-0 at the break.
Tap below to watch #ENGvPOR Live ⬇️
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 25, 2024
England A As a proof of concept, this was a step in the right direction. But if these games are of the greatest value to England's future path, emerging players may want a tougher physical test next time.
star of the show
Player of the Match Tom Pearson shares goodwill with the great Richard Hill, a back-row leader and legendary flanker who has long been on England's radar as one of England's future stars. have been compared. Picked on the blindside today, Pearson was involved in almost all of England's games, showing a perfect skill set in both tight and loose situations and being a useful option in lineout situations to put pressure on Portugal's throws. proved. A key element of England's superiority.
Pearson could not have timed his performance better, with his own goal-scoring performance and poor performance at Murrayfield raising questions about the balance of the first-team back-row. There may be doubts about his physical ability in close quarters.
England Men's A's No. 2 try against Portugal was scored by Tom Pearson. @SaintsRugby After Charlie Atkinson played a beautiful looping pass down the flank.
Tap below to watch #ENGvPOR Live ⬇️
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 25, 2024
In the backline, Max Ojomo and Josh Hodge took chances. Hodge is England's most attacking threat on the ball and his acceleration and link-up with Marley made for an impressive hat-trick of runs created by the English forward's power, with a first-half try to beat Exeter. It showed the Flyers' offensive potential. . As for Marley, he has a happy knack for riding the end of a move and finishing off his opponent. This is a valuable quality among wingers and is influenced by his immense talent.
England are starting to realize that they are really lacking in Test quality in their new centres, and Ojomo put in a perfectly balanced performance to remind them of that promise. He has the girth and spunk to pick up steam on the first tackle, but also has the dexterity and gas to switch to a skill-based game when needed. All in all, it was a great game for the Bath center and one that could see him promoted to the first team in the not-too-distant future.
Scotland v England: Finn Russell and Duane van der Merwe capitalize on Red Rose's mistakes as Calcutta Cup winning streak continues
England's set pieces flourish
At senior level at Murrayfield yesterday there were question marks looming over aspects of England's tight play, but the performances of the big boys up front will have delighted England's wider coaching group to no end.
Both props Joe Hayes and Finn Baxter put up a perfect game against Os Lobos' weak scrum, with Hayes in particular enjoying a rampage at the tighthead end. In fact, at the start of the second half, it looked like he had done a good enough job to break out of the front row and score from a spilled ball, but referee Luc Ramos was having none of it, much to Hayes' dismay. I let it happen. He trotted under the posts to award a penalty try.
Charlie Ewells is a man who, despite his enormous amount of work and technical prowess, has never been well-received by the British fan base. He was simply guided by a huge example and delivered performances of the highest quality, his lineouts were perfect, his leadership wise and he was outstanding in the loose. But for all Uells' headstrong qualities, his engine room partner Luciate Tuima is a man with rock star qualities, and it was his outrageous one-handed move to Will Muir that set tongues wagging. It was his loose job, including dummies and off-roading. The sound of clapping on the chilly Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Alfie Barbaree has also joined this party in terms of dominating the gain line with the ball in his big tight line carries, and a number of players have impressed to advance their selection cases with England's tight play. There were many things I liked about it. .
portuguese struggle
No Os Lobos XV had such a favorable acquittal against Fiji at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, so this match should be as developmental for Portugal as it is for England A themselves. was.
However, while a certain lack of cohesion can be tolerated, the lack of fundamentals such as main defensive shapes and maul defense was a major problem for the visitors. Simply put, England's mauls were a given in terms of scoring threat as Jamie Blamire and Alfie Barbary fell over from close range, so the use of mauls was abandoned to explore other options in the backline. Canceled.
The same was true for set-pieces, where scrummage was allowed and England tore apart their opponents. Even at the lineout, Os Lobos struggled to create any form of momentum or threat despite having clean ball.
However, in the scramble they were athletic and committed, with a few last-gasp taps and chasing tackles to stop England from extending their lead further. When Portugal had one-on-one chances, Jose María Cortés and Alfredo Almeida both barely managed to score. The proud moment of skill was capped off by the great work of Manuel Vialello, who took advantage of a loose aerial duel on the right flank to rally and race 35 meters to score the try, as all 15,123 people braved the early kick-off. A cold breeze envelopes this device.
However, in the wider scheme of things for the England A program going forward, while Portugal had acquired the rights to this match, it would have been possible for all parties involved to have been allowed to release players on a Top 14 and Pro D2 basis. Some might argue that they would have made a profit. It deprived the team of a great deal of Test match experience and proven rugby intelligence.
England Men's A came back with a big win 🌹#ENGvPOR pic.twitter.com/JOyjCn1JAh
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 25, 2024
The conundrum of choice
The burning question is whether any of the England A players have done enough to qualify for the game against Ireland. This is a challenge that can be seen from the form of the current squad, and after the game against Scotland it was suggested that the first team may have problems with back-up in front-row, back-row and three-quarter positions.
Pearson has already been included in the 36-man squad and after today's impressive display, he is set to compete with Ethan Roots for the England No. 6 shirt (and even more so with Sam Underhill for the openside spot). Protuberant). Max Ojomo also showed he has the right balance of physicality and gas to allow runs at inside center, while two older stagers, Joe Hayes and skipper Charlie Yee, Wells also reminded us that they have a lot. I will provide it at a test level if I have the opportunity.
But the real plus was the gas and ambition shown by the back three of Josh Hodge, Kaydan Marley and Will Muir, who all impressed and scored. Hodge may still be lacking a bit of strength, but Marley and Muir have been active in senior selection for a long time and proved today that perhaps now is the time to give them a chance at Test level.
read more: England player ratings: Playmakers struggle as Red Rose go down again in dramatic attack
