England vs Barbarians: Reflections

England head coach Stuart Lancaster barely had time to catch his breath this weekend, firstly taking in the Aviva Premiership final on Saturday, before coaching an England XV to a record-breaking 73-12 victory over the Barbarians at Twickenham.

The Premiership final featured 19 members of England’s 50-man Rugby World Cup training squad, many of whom had stellar games in the competition’s showpiece event, but it’s at the performances of the England XV that we are looking, with particular attention on the 10 players who also feature in England’s training squad.

Starting up front, props Matt Mullan and Kieran Brookes both handled themselves well, helping England to a scrum advantage over the visitors, but it was hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie that drew the most plaudits.

The dynamic Exeter Chief looked in fine fettle as he rampaged through the Barbarians’ defensive line on multiple occasions, setting up two tries with destructive carrying and well-timed distribution. The frequency with which Cowan-Dickie popped up in open field was reminiscent of the way the Hurricanes and New Zealand use Dane Coles, and the young man certainly showed he has the ability to be every bit as dangerous with ball in hand as the Kiwi.

Lineout throwing has been a cause for concern with Cowan-Dickie however, and those concerns weren’t entirely put to bed at Twickenham, as he connected successfully with his jumpers on five of his seven throws. With the team having only been together for a week, mastery of the set-piece was not to be expected, and encouragingly, of those two misses, only one was due to poor throwing, as the other was expertly stolen by the veteran Brad Thorn.

Cowan-Dickie certainly improved his stock this weekend, furthering his case to be Tom Youngs’ understudy at the RWC, but the accuracy Jamie George brings at the set-piece could create a fascinating duel for the spot heading into the RWC warm-up matches later this year.

Moving a row back, the pairing of Joe Launchbury and Ed Slater were excellent. The locks, who spent the majority of the season injured, looked refreshed and full of energy, as they rampaged up and down the pitch on Sunday afternoon. Both players carried with power and purpose, displaying soft hands when they needed to, whilst Launchbury’s ability to do damage at the breakdown was also clearly evident.

There was no shortage of impressive performances in England’s back line either, with man of the match Danny Cipriani leading the way with an extraordinary haul of 33 individual points. The Sale Shark went a perfect 11 from 11 from the tee, whilst he also grabbed two tries in a magnificent performance that was as good as any outing from a fly-half you would have seen this season. His passing was incisive and crisp, whilst his tactical kicking was measured and effective, constantly keeping the Barbarians on the back foot. Scrum-half Lee Dickson had little to do but feed Cipriani the ball and watch the England back line feast.

The much-heralded midfield pairing of Henry Slade and Elliot Daly both gave good accounts of themselves, with Slade in particular putting his hand up for Lancaster to take notice. Slade’s virtuoso performances at fly-half and outside centre this season led many to suggest he would make a formidable inside centre at test level, and though it intuitively made sense, it was a theory which had not been tested till this match.

From the inside centre spot, Slade acted as a second playmaker outside Cipriani (not that England necessarily needed one on the day) and fizzed passes to his outside backs which the Barbarians simply were not prepared to effectively defend given their limited time together prior to the match. Daly was also in fine form, arcing his way around numerous defenders and would be on the receiving end of far more praise had it not been for the scintillating shifts that Cipriani and Slade put in.

The last of England’s 10-man training squad contingent in action on the day was Marland Yarde, and the Harlequins winger may have been the pick of the impressive bunch.

He obviously did not see as much of the ball as Cipriani or Slade, but he was brutally efficient in attack and as solid defensively as he has ever looked in his thus far short career. In addition to his try, Yarde also set up Christian Wade for a score, looked ambitious and industrious coming off his wing in search of the ball, and all in all, looked every inch the balanced and threatening winger that England have craved for some time now.

Of the non-training squad contingent, both Wade and Jack Clifford particularly impressed, and though Wade scored a hat-trick, his lack of concentration that resulted in him dropping the ball, unpressured, over the try line, may be an indication as to why Lancaster hasn’t shown faith in him just yet.

Places in England’s final Rugby World Cup squad won’t have been won or lost in this match, nor in the Premiership final, but certain players definitely did their hopes a world of good with standout performances this weekend.

Cowan-Dickie, Launchbury and Yarde all took big steps towards the final squad, whilst Slade and Daly showed that they have the talent and versatility to be important members of the squad if called upon. Cipriani’s hopes, as England’s third-choice fly-half, seem to be contingent upon whether or not Lancaster sees Farrell as an option at inside centre, as it is unlikely he will take three fly-halves, especially with full-back Alex Goode capable of covering fly-half.

Away from individual’s stock rising or falling, it was a comprehensive performance from England, who will have certainly sent the coaching staff away with plenty to think about ahead of the upcoming training camps, and given fans plenty to be excited about heading into the summer.