Rampant England bounce back to winning ways with 11-try spree against Fiji
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LIVERPOOL, England, July 11 : Second half substitute Henry Pollock scored a hat-trick as England ran in 11 tries in a 73-8 thrashing of Fiji in their Nations Championship clash on Saturday, ending a run of five successive test defeats.
The result at the Hill Dickinson Stadium followed England’s heavy defeat by South Africa in their opening Nations Championship game and a disappointing Six Nations campaign.
England were 35-3 ahead at half-time and took advantage of Fiji being reduced to 14 men for the second half after scrum-half Simione Kuruvoli was sent off for kicking out at England prop Ellis Genge and striking him in the chest.
England’s first-half try scorers were Marcus Smith, captain Jamie George, Guy Pepper, Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Seb Atkinson.
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Pollock (3), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade and Noah Caluori added second-half tries while Fin Smith, who had a commanding game at fly-half, kicked nine conversions.
Fiji’s score came from Tevita Ikanivere’s push-over try and a penalty kicked by Caleb Muntz.
England last won a test when they beat Wales early in the Six Nations and needed a statement victory, doing so in style with their biggest win over Fiji and were helped by the high penalty count against the islanders.
Fiji ceded home advantage for the fixture, as they did last weekend against Wales and will do next Saturday against Scotland due to financial considerations, and will have swelled their union’s coffers with a crowd of more than 50,000, but it was England who were on the money from the start of the first rugby international held at the new Everton ground.
Marcus Smith’s opening try had an element of good fortune as Finn Smith’s kick out wide to Tommy Freeman bounced over the winger’s head but hit the corner flag, bouncing back into play, and it was quick thinking from the England fullback that secured a sixth-minute lead.
They never looked back after that, with debutant Janse van Rensburg scoring with his first touch after briefly coming on as an HIA (head injury assessment) replacement for Slade in the first half.
After the break, teenage winger Caluori marked his first test with a flying dive for a try, while Pollock’s impressive turn of pace outsprinted the Fijians as he came on and stole the second-half show with an impressive hat-trick.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Atlanta; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Source: Reuters
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