A ring rusty England have beaten The Pacific Islanders 39 - 13 at Twickenham, outscoring their opponents from the Southern Hemisphere Five tries to one.
The home side recorded a first win for coach Martin Johnson. Two tries in the first have from Sackey and outside half Cipriani gave the home side a 20 -10 lead at the break.
Further tries in the second half from second row Kennedy, hooker Mears and a second for winger Sackey opened up a deserving scoreline for the hosts.
This match might have been the winning start to the Autumn internationals thatthey desire there were still plenty of areas to work on if they are to beat Australia on the 15th of November and South Africa and New Zealand following them.
What the players said:
Delon Armitage (London Irish)
[On his debut] “I’m lost for words to be honest - today has been just brilliant - a dream come true. I always wanted to play for England and show what I can do in front of a big crowd. For the first five or 10 minutes I was a bit shaky - but then I got into the game and started to enjoy it.”
[On England's defence] “I’m just upset the game went so quickly - it was a great game - the Islanders attacked really well and I enjoyed every minute. We’re proud to concede just one try against a really good attacking team.”
[On being man-of-the-match] “The trophy’s actually the heaviest thing I’ve ever held in my life! I’m really pleased with it. There were about twenty members of my family in the East Stand today - I think it’s a day they’ll never forget either.”
Steve Borthwick (capt, Saracens)
[On the performance] “It was a good start for us against very difficult opponents and I thought all the debutants did really well.”
[On the crowd] “It was a fantastic atmosphere from the crowd, it’s great to be here at Twickenham with fantastic fans and they really helped us today. It helps every time and we look forward to playing in front of them next week.”
[On Australia] “Australia are next and that’s going to be a really exciting challenge. We did a lot of good things but there are a lot of things we need to improve upon.”
Danny Care (Harlequins)
[On playing in a home international] “It was great to get a win and I’m really pleased we came away with five tries. It was just so special to play at Twickenham wearing an international jersey. There are still some things we need to iron out for next week though.”
[On the opposition and the man-of-the-match] “The Pacific Islanders were brilliant today - we knew they’d attack us and they didn’t disappoint. I have to say Delon (Armitage) was outstanding in defence - with his tackles, kicks, his pace and under the high ball.”
Riki Flutey (London Wasps)
[On singing the National Anthem] “I really enjoyed the national anthem, even though I had Jamie Noon next to me signing flat! I think he was surprised that I knew all the words!”
[On England's performance] “As a team we didn’t show as much as we’d have liked today, but I think we did OK given the conditions. Hopefully the conditions will be better next week for the Aussies - we’ll have to make a huge step up to beat them.”
Nick Kennedy (London Irish)
[On his try on debut] “This is even better than when I dreamt about it because I didn’t score in the dream.
“London Irish and Harlequins have both done the move that led to my try - Danny (Care) ran a great line. Playing and scoring today has made the wait for my first cap really worth while - I’m just happy we won, but we have plenty of things to work on for next week.”
Lee Mears (Bath)
[On the quality of the match] “We saw two very exciting sides today and great enthusiasm from all the youngsters in our squad. I’ve been around for quite a while now and would love to be involved in more games like that.”
[On competition for places] “I’ve started the last four England games on the bounce now and hopefully can keep that run going. Dylan (Hartley) trained really well this week and I’m sure he’ll get some more game time over the rest of the three matches.”
Ugo Monye (Harlequins)
[On making his England debut] “It was a major dream to represent my country and I was extremely excited to get out there and do what I do best - play rugby. The team’s already taken a massive step forward, but we’ll need to take another massive step next week against Australia.”
[On the support of injured club and England teammate David Strettle] “I’ve had so many text and phone calls from people this week. Stretts sent me one of the most heart-felt messages I’ve ever received before the game - he’s a great friend of mine.”
Jamie Noon (Newcastle Falcons)
[On the intensity of the game] “We knew it would be a physical match - there were some good hits flying around! It was nice to have a win and settle a few nerves.”
[On needing to build on the win] “We now have a springboard. We lost our shape a bit at times after a great start. We scored several good tries but should have had a couple more. Overall it was a strong performance though.”
Tom Rees (London Wasps)
[On England's performance] “There are lots of positives to take as a whole from today’s performance, but we know we have to go on from here.”
[On the new-look back line] “There’s great pace in the side - I’m worried I can’t keep up anymore! Paul (Sackey), Ugo (Monye) and Delon (Armitage) all showed their speed with ball in hand - and they’re not just all gas… they’re great rugby players too.”
Paul Sackey (London Wasps)
[On the new-look back line] “There’s loads of potential in our back three - but we have other great partnerships too. Danny Care and Danny Cipriani are going to be outstanding, as will our locks Steve Borthwick and Nick Kennedy - a real blend of youth and experience.”
[On scoring two tries] “It’s my job to score tries and to help the team. When I don’t score I feel down. 10 tries in 16 games is good, but I’d like 16 out of 16!”
[On England's strength in depth] “The competition for places in the team is great and means we can’t be complacent. There are so many other players who are capable of stepping up to the plate and taking your position.”
Scorers
England
Tries: Sackey 2, Cipriani, Kennedy, Mears
Con: Cipriani 4
Pen: Cipriani 2
DG:
Pacific Islanders
Tries: Rabeni,
Con: Hola,
Pen: Hola, Bai
DG:
England: D Armitage (London Irish); P Sackey (Wasps), J Noon (Newcastle), R Flutey (Wasps), U Monye (Harlequins); D Cipriani (Wasps), D Care (Harlequins); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), L Mears (Bath), M Stevens (Bath), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), N Kennedy (London Irish), T Croft (Leicester), T Rees (Wasps), N Easter (Harlequins).
Replacements: D Hartley (Northampton), P Vickery (Wasps), T Palmer (Wasps), J Haskell (Wasps), M Lipman (Bath), H Ellis (Leicester), T Flood (Leicester).
Pacific Islanders: K Ratuvou (Fiji); S Tagicakibau (Samoa), S Rabeni (Fiji), S Mapusua (Samoa), V Delasau (Fiji); P Hola (Tonga), M Rauluni (Fiji, capt); J Va’a (Samoa), A Lutui (Tonga), C Johnston (Samoa), F Levi (Samoa), K Leawere (Fiji), S Naevo (Fiji), N Latu (Tonga), F Maka (Tonga).
Replacements: S Koto (Fiji), K Pulu (Tonga), H T Pole (Tonga), G Stowers (Samoa), S Martens (Tonga), S Bai (Fiji), E Taione (Tonga)
Tags: England Rugby, Pacific Islanders
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