England 57-15 Ireland: Eddie Jones' side dominate visitors in World Cup warm-up

By Alex BysouthBBC Sport
World Cup warm-up: England v Ireland
England (22) 57
Tries: Cokanasiga 2, Daly, Tuilagi, Itoje, Kruis, Curry, Cowan-Dickie Cons: Farrell 6, Ford Pen: Farrell
Ireland (10) 15
Try: Larmour, Aki Con: Byrne Pen: Byrne

England produced a dominant performance as they continued their preparations for the World Cup by hammering Ireland.

Eddie Jones's side ran in eight tries at Twickenham to register their largest winning margin against the visitors.

Ireland crossed first through Jordan Larmour but Joe Cokanasiga, Elliot Daly and Manu Tuilagi all scored as the hosts built a 12-point half-time lead.

England added further tries from Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Tom Curry, Cokanasiga and Luke Cowan-Dickie.

Jones got the response he would have been looking for after England were beaten by Wales in a lacklustre display last week.

In contrast, Ireland looked way off the pace set by the home side and missed the chance to overtake Wales at the top of the world rankings.

Cokanasiga's well-made first set the standard in sweltering conditions, with full-back Daly crossing on the same flank before Tuilagi powered through the middle from close range.

Itoje capitalised on a loose Ireland line-out shortly after the break and the rampant hosts continued to increase their advantage as Kruis and Curry crossed in quick succession.

Cokanasiga's converted second took the hosts to the 50-point mark as England laid down a marker with less than a month to go before their World Cup opener against Tonga in Japan.

Ireland centre Bundee Aki finished a well-taken solo consolation try, but England replacement Cowan-Dickie dived over late on to complete the hosts' win.

England's extra preparation shows

Tom Curry
Tom Curry crossed after combining with fellow flanker Sam Underhill

England coach Jones named the 31 players he will be taking to Japan before England lost in the second of two warm-up Tests against Wales last Saturday and his squad clicked with impressive efficiency as temperatures hit 30 degrees Celsius in London.

Jones addressed his side's lack of creativity in Cardiff, where they failed to score a try, by naming Owen Farrell at centre alongside Tuilagi with George Ford starting at fly-half.

The hosts took control in the opening 40 minutes as they responded to Larmour's opening try by working space wide on the right for Cokanasiga to cross and then made their numerical advantage count with Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray down injured by sending Daly in on the overlap.

Tuilagi, making his first start in the World Cup warm-up Tests having impressed off the bench in both matches against Wales, had set the platform for Daly's score and soon got the try his performance deserved when he stormed through a gap before the break.

England carried that momentum into the second half as Ireland lost another line-out and Itoje powered past replacement Luke McGrath to score, while Kruis was able to touch down after England kept the ball alive following a Jonny May break.

Jones said there was "no ceiling" for 'Kamikaze kids' Sam Underhill and Curry before Saturday's game and the Australian will have been delighted to see his flankers combine for a superb try as Curry got his name on the scoreboard.

Cokanasiga then came off his wing to grab his second and, after Aki's consolation, replacement Cowan-Dickie pounced on another Irish overthrow to round off a victory that set records for England's highest score and greatest winning margin against Ireland.

England have one final warm-up game, against Italy on Friday, 6 September, before they head to Sapporo for their World Cup opener.

Plenty to work on for Ireland

Ireland headed into the contest against England with just one warm-up fixture under their belts and even that victory over Italy a fortnight ago saw Joe Schmidt name an experimental side.

Despite that, the visitors started brightly when Larmour dived on a bouncing ball after England failed to gather a chip and chase from opposite wing Jacob Stockdale.

Schmidt, reluctant to risk Jonathan Sexton and without Joey Carbery through injury, handed a first Test start to rookie Ross Byrne and the fly-half was on target with the conversion before adding a penalty that re-established Ireland's lead after 26 minutes.

Ireland still have to cut nine players from a current 40-man panel before they begin their World Cup against Scotland in Yokohama on 22 September, but few players did their hopes any favours from there on in at Twickenham.

As the visitors' error count grew, so did England's advantage and Ireland finished the match having conceded 19 turnovers and lost six of their 15 line-outs.

New Zealand-born centre Aki demonstrated the threat he poses when he sprinted over for Ireland's second, but even that consolation was wiped out when they gifted Cowan-Dickie a try late on.

Ireland continue their World Cup preparation by facing Wales in Cardiff on 31 August and again in Dublin on 7 September.

Man of the match - Manu Tuilagi (England)

Manu Tuilagi
Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi proved how important he could be to England's World Cup hopes with an impressive display at Twickenham. Tuilagi set the platform in attack by making 56 metres and beating seven defenders, while a thumping hit on Jordan Larmour also showcased his defensive prowess.

It feels like there is a lot more in us - Farrell

England captain Owen Farrell: " The most pleasing thing is that our best stuff is still in front of us.

"We feel like we are going in the right direction and are building towards something. This is another step along. It feels like there is a lot more in us."

Ireland captain Rory Best: "We can be a lot better and we have to be a lot better. That is not up to the standard that we set ourselves.

"It is hard to describe it without using a lot of profanity. It will not be pleasant viewing.

"We are nowhere near where we need to be. The only upside is that it is the middle of August not the middle of September."

Teams

England: Daly; Cokanasiga, Tuilagi, Farrell, May; Ford, Youngs; Marler, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Kruis, Curry, Underhill, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, M Vunipola, Cole, Lawes, Wilson, Heinz, Francis, Marchant.

Ireland: R Kearney; Larmour, Ringrose, Aki, Stockdale; R Byrne, Murray; Healy, Best, Furlong, Henderson, Kleyn; O'Mahony, Van der Flier, Stander.

Replacements: Cronin, J McGrath, Porter, Toner, Beirne, L McGrath, Carty, Conway.

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