England 71-0 Chile: Henry Arundell scores FIVE tries on his Rugby World Cup debut as Steve Borthwick’s side complete 11-try haul, with Owen Farrell returning from his ban and Marcus Smith impressing at full-back

• Steve Borthwick’s side secured a dominant victory against Chile on Saturday 
• Henry Arundell scored a hat-trick of tries to help England secure a [45-0] victory 
• England opted to kick much less than they did during last week’s win vs Japan
• Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results

Henry Arundell became England’s first player to score five tries since 2003 as England’s attack finally sparked into life against Chile.

England attacked with verve and ambition – with Marcus Smith adding some joy to the afternoon – but it felt more like a training run as they made easy work of the lowest ranked team in the competition.

On his World Cup debut, Arundell joined Josh Lewsey, Rory Underwood and Douglas Lambert as he bagged 25 points to place himself top of the try-scoring charts.

And more importantly, in light of the Antoine Dupont’s injury against Namibia, England came through the exercise with no injuries or red cards.

This is Chile’s first ever World Cup. All of the stores around the stadium had sold out of their red and blue jerseys.

Some of their supporters came dressed as chillies, singing and chanting the name of their country. It felt like a carnival and the result was not going to spoil the party.

The bookmakers had Chile down as 50/1 outsiders to beat England, reflecting their status as the lowest ranked team in the competition. 

Most of them grew up supporting Argentina, travelling across the Andes to watch their games. Few of them dreamed of being here on the biggest stage when they grew up in their British schools, singing God Save The Queen in assembly.

For 20 minutes, this was Chile’s party. They came out flying. Martin Sigren inspired his team-mates with his carrying. 

Lock Clemente Saavedra unpicked the defence with his lines and Cristobal Game made yards down the wing. 

Matius Garafulic kicked a massive 50-22 and throughout the first quarter it was England who looked like the lowest ranked team in the competition.

Eventually, on their sixth visit to the 22, England broke out of their straitjacket to score the first points. 

Chile had no answer to their set-piece – struggling at scrum and lineout. England smelt blood, opting for an attacking scrum over three points, and Owen Farrell sent a long miss pass for Henry Arundell to score his first try.

It settled the nerves and England came to life. They dominated the aerial contest, finding holes in the back-field coverage and earned an attacking lineout. 

Rookie hooker Theo Dan drove over to score on his first Test start, continuing his remarkable 12-month rise from the second division.

England turned up the speed. They took quick taps and threw early lineouts, running Chile into the ground. 

After a passionate goal-line stand by Chile, Farrell tapped and went from a penalty, chucking a long ball to Arundell for his second.

Bevan Rodd was next to score. After an inaccurate start, Marcus Smith broke down the right wing on a kick return, before Lewis Ludlam charged down the left. Rodd was left to wriggle over from a couple of metres out.

Jack Willis proved to be a pest at the breakdown, disrupting Chilean rucks. With the ball in hand, England showed some urgency. 

George Martin intercepted a loose pass and England struck again. This was Smith’s moment, grubbering and gathering to score a spectacular try of speed and vision.

As the scrum pressure continued, Chile’s prop Matias Dittus was sin-binned early in the second half. England were ruthless and Dan quickly scored his second. 

Arundell bagged his hat-trick score on his sixth carry of the match and then George Ford joined proceedings, leaving England with three fly-halves on the pitch for the final half an hour.

Chile’s players were going down with cramp after 50 minutes. Their execution faltered under fatigue and England soon hit the half century. 

Running back a loose box kick, Max Malins broke through the middle. Ford sent the ball wide to Arundell and the speedster chipped and chased to score his fourth of the day.

Ford, Farrell and Smith all got their hands on the ball in the build-up to Arundell’s fifth, as he joined the likes of Jonah Lomu, Marc Ellis and Chris Latham.

Dazzling with the ball in hand, Smith scored his second in the 77th minute after a delayed pass from Ford. 

The triple play-maker experiment yielded results, with Smith and and Willis taking the try haul to 11 in the final minutes.

Source: Read Full Article