England claimed a bonus point victory in their second match of the Rugby World Cup, but they had to work for it by a Georgian team who refused to lie down and produced a brilliant performance.
England showed their intent in the opening seconds, by moving the ball wide and playing at a high tempo and keeping the ball alive. It took just four minutes for the first try to come when New Zealand born centre Shontayne Hape picked the ball up 40 metres out and scored a simple try under the posts. Toby Flood then added the simple conversion to give his side a 7-0 lead.
But after that promising start Martin Johnson's side struggled to get their hands on the ball, some great carrying from the Georgian pack and some sloppy penalties at the breakdown gave the men in red confidence. Georgia had a couple of opportunities to get themselves back into the game but fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili, playing in his third World Cup, missed two shots at goal.
But after 20 minutes England doubled their lead after Hape crossed for his second try. The men in white went through several phases and kept the ball alive with some brilliant handling, Chris Ashton almost scored at first but was held up just short. The ball was recycled and moved out wide and the London Irish centre jinked inside the defence to touch down. Flood once again made no mistake with the conversion and the lead was 14-0.
Merab Kvirikashvili finally got his side on the scoreboard with his fourth penalty of the night, it was a deserved score for Georgia who showed real attacking intent and superb ball retention, England's lead cut to 14-3. Five minutes before the break Flood restored the 14 point advantage with a confident penalty goal.
England lost Dylan Hartley to the sin-bin just 20 seconds before the end of the first half, after a handling in the ruck close to the line. Georgia made England pay for their indescretions, after number eight Dimitri Basilaia picked from the scrum and scored a powerful try under the posts, Kvirikashvili added the extras to make it 17-10 at the break.
England started the second half in positive fashion and scored their third try seven minutes after the restart. After a driving maul the ball was moved out wide, after some slick handling from Hape and Ben Foden and Delon Armitage stepped inside his man to score a well worked try. Flood couldn't add the conversion but England established a 12 point lead.
But all credit has to go to Georgia they really stuck to the task well, the pack continued to cause all sorts of problems for England. Flanker Mamuka Gorgodze was a man mountain for his side, he was everywhere and doing everything, it is no surprise he was voted the best foreign player in the Top 14. But Georgia also showed some ambition with their back play which many might not have been expecting. Had Kvirikashvili not had such a woeful day with the boot then Georgia would have been in the lead.
But in the final 20 minutes the quick turnaround took its toll and England pulled clear with two really well worked scores. The first came from the Leicester powerhouse Manu Tuilagi, after a good lineout the ball was moved to Flood and Tuilagi picked a great line and crashed through the defence to score, Flood added the extras to extend the lead to 29-10.
After the Tigers men combined for the fourth try, it was a Northampton combination that extended the lead further. Some great work from the impressive Wood, who broke the defence and Chris Ashton who scored his first try of the tournament. Flood once again on target with the conversion and the score was now 35-10.
England scored their sixth try in the 80th minute, a solid scrum 5m out saw the ball worked wide to Ben Foden who got the offload away to Ashton who scored his second try of the game in the corner. Flood couldn't add the extras and the game finished 41-10.
Thoughts
Georgia deserve all the credit for the way they pressured England and made their life very difficult. England showed flashes of what they can do, but they didn't put it together enough, when Flood got Hape and Tuilagi going forward they looked good. I thought the back-three showed great ambition to counter attack but at there are times when its best to go for territory and that sort of play got England into trouble on a couple of occasions.
The penalty count was far too high, conceding 10 penalties before half-time is not going to win you games against the bigger sides, at the breakdown there is sometimes a clueless look to the play. Its almost like they have to give away a penalty, they didn't seem to trust the defence and needlessly put hands in the ruck.
On the positive side Hape had his best game in an England shirt, but I don't think its any coincidence that when he has a player like Tuilagi on his shoulder rather than the pedestrian Tindall. Simon Shaw was terrific at 38 he still puts in immensely consistent performances, and he has a major role to play in this tournament. Tom Wood had a brilliant game, he proved his worth to this side and again he has a big role to play.
Overall England will be pleased with the bonus point win, but not the performance. But the return of key players like Ben Youngs will please Martin Johnson but there is much to improve if they want to be major contenders.
Man of the Match
