England A power past Portugal in Leicester
England A scored 15 tries en route to a 91-5 victory over Portugal at Leicester Tigers Stadium.
- England A: Tries - Blamire, Pearson, Barbeary, Tuima, Muir, Murley (3), Hodge, Ojomoh, Penalty Try, Riley, Shillcock, Beard, Fisilau | Cons - Atkinson (2), Hodge (3), Shillcock (3)
- Portugal: Tries - Vareiro
15,123 fans watched on as the hosts set a blistering start to the match, with hooker Jamie Blamire crossing for the first try inside the opening three minutes, after a powerful rolling maul from a five-metre lineout.
England's attacking ambition was clear, scrum half Harry Randall dug the ball from rucks with immense speed, as forwards and backs combined touchline to touchline. It was on the left flank that Tom Pearson found success, claiming England's second after a clinical Charlie Atkinson pass found him in space to go over. England up 10-0 after six minutes.
George Skivington's men continued to showcase their power game with another rolling maul score, Bath back row Alfie Barbeary the benefactor of the third. Portugal fly-half Manuel Vareiro was shown a yellow card for taking Randall off the ball close to the line, as Rusiate Tuima got the fourth try, converted by Atkinson.
Tuima was the catalyst of the next as he spun out of a tackle and threw a one-handed pass to Will Muir, the Bath wing had one defender to beat and did it with ease, and Cadan Murley bagged the sixth moments later as England took complete control of the match.
Josh Hodge danced around Jose Maria Cortes and Vareiro to claim his first try - and Atkinson combined with Ojomoh beautifully, chipping in behind the defence for his centre to collect and dot down under the sticks. Both were converted to make it 50-0 at the break.
England were awarded a penalty try two minutes into the resumption, and had their tenth try on 52 minutes, taken by Sam Riley, who had only been on the field a few minutes. Close to the whitewash, Pearson made the offload, and the Harlequins hooker wrestled Jose Maria Cortes over the line and into the corner.
Jamie Shillcock scored in front of his home crowd through sheer determination and an unwillingness to accept tackles, showing balance and strength to stay upright and power over the line for England's eleventh try.
The home side's defence continued to be uncompromising as they battered each Portuguese carry backward - though it did not dent Os Lobos' grit - and they soon had their reward when, on 60 minutes, fly-half Vareiro leaped into the air and snatched an up-and-under into his chest before landing, stepping around replacement Caolan Englefield and sprinting into the corner for their first try.
It would be their only points of the match though, as further tries from Oscar Beard, Greg Fisilau, and a Murley brace confirmed a comprehensive 91-5 win for England A.
Reaction
George Skivington: "There was a void in the opposition and quality of players but at half time we sat down and were realistic in what we wanted, and challenged ourselves to show character. To score that many points is a challenge no matter who you play, but I give credit to Portugal, they stayed in it and fought very hard.
"Considering all Premiership teams defend and attack differently I thought the boys done a great job in getting aligned and if there were any problems they solved them quickly."
Team
England A
15. Josh Hodge, 14. Cadan Murley, 13. Oscar Beard, 12. Max Ojomoh, 11. Will Muir, 10. Charlie Atkinson, 9. Harry Randall, 1. Fin Baxter, 2. Jamie Blamire, 3. Joe Heyes, 4. Rusiate Tuima, 5. Charlie Ewels - captain, 6. Tom Pearson, 7. Guy Pepper, 8. Alfie Barbeary.
Replacements
16. Sam Riley, 17. Tarek Haffar, 18. Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19. Ben Bamber, 20. Greg Fisilau, 21. Caolan Englefield, 22. Jamie Shillcock, 23. Oliver Hartley.
Portugal
15. Alfredo Almeida, 14. Jose Maria Vilar Gomes, 13. Vasco Leite, 12. Francisco Nobre, 11. Jose Maria Cortes, 10. Manuel Vareiro, 9. Duarte Cardoso, 1. Andre Arrojado, 2. Pedro Vicente, 3. Antonio Prim, 4. Antonio Andrade, 5. Nicolas Fernandes, 6. Clement Ribeiro, 7. Francisco Almeida, 8. Jose Roque.
Replacements
16. Abel da Cuhna, 17. Jayson Rodrigues, 18. Giorgi Turabelidze, 19. Kevin Baptista, 20. Joao Cabaco, 21. Boaventura Almeida, 22. Duarte Cortes, 23. Jose do carmo Camara.
