They say to always leave them wanting more and there can be little doubt England managed that. This was a first home Test against a tier one nation away from Twickenham for a decade but the Newcastle crowd were starved of much to shout about to mark the occasion until a late flurry of points.
When some of the biggest cheers of the night are for Italy choosing to kick to the corner – England had been booed for not doing so earlier – it is clear the Newcastle faithful were not witnessing a classic performance. In truth it came nowhere near the intensity and panache with which England have dispatched Wales and Ireland on home soil in these warm-up matches. Indeed, after that record-breaking win over Ireland Billy Vunipola explained how England had to learn to perform without the “comforts of our home” at Twickenham. There remains work to do on that front.
A 37-point win -– and keeping Italy scoreless – may sound mightily impressive but plenty of those points came after the Mexican waves had started, the crowd growing tired of England’s mistakes. They also came after George Ford’s introduction and whether he starts or comes on he is rapidly becoming one of this England side’s most important players. It is staggering to think he has been in all but one of the 23-man squads since Eddie Jones took over.
A match which neither side greatly benefited from so close to their respective departures for Japan attracted just over 50,000 supporters in what is rapidly establishing itself as English rugby’s second city. England did not arrive until Thursday and it does seem fair to question why they did not make more of an effort to engage with the community as Italy, who have been here all week, patently did. That said, spreading the gospel is one thing, preaching to the converted is quite another and in a week when it was announced this year’s European finals were worth £24.6m to Newcastle’s economy it is clear that high-profile rugby union matches are a big draw in the north-east.
The great shame is that England are unlikely to be back here any time soon, such is the Rugby Football Union’s parlous financial state. Moreover, Steve Brown, the chief executive who so dramatically altered the union’s approach with an eagerness to take matches away from Twickenham, has long since left the building. He has been replaced by Bill Sweeney, whose priority is to boost revenues and given the absence of any autumn internationals this year, Twickenham will be milked for all it is worth for the foreseeable future.
England were 6-0 to the good but Jones had seen enough before the clock had reached 35 minutes. Joe Launchbury made way with a worrying looking injury but his decision to change both props – introducing Kyle Sinckler and Ellis Genge – was tactical. Afterwards Jones claimed it was a premeditated decision but perhaps more telling was another of his cricket analogies – that England behaved like a batsman who had already scored a hundred, or that they had forgotten how to build an innings.
Nonetheless, an England victory was effectively guaranteed but certainly the first 40 minutes looked like a home side eager to get on Sunday’s plane to Japan free from injury. It was no coincidence that Joe Marchant, the one player in England’s starting XV not in the World Cup squad was arguably their liveliest player in the opening half. Jonny May and the local hero Mark Wilson also emerged in credit but few others did. Jones often says these days that modern rugby players do not respond well to ranting and raving any more but it is hard to imagine there were not a few fireworks in the home dressing room.
As Italy began to tire Marchant got the try his endeavour deserved and Matt Kvesic, another not currently bound for Japan, also got a run-out for 20 minutes or so. But with the greatest respect to the Exeter back-row, his introduction was most notable for the fact it meant Billy Vunipola had come through his fourth consecutive start of these warm-up matches without any injury disasters.
At the end of a strikingly positive buildup for England it must be said they were defensively relentless – there are not many clean sheets at St James’ Park – and adapted well in the second half whereas they were far too frantic in the first. It is hard not to feel though, that trip to the north or not, this was a warm-up Test too many.