A young England men’s XV produced an entertaining performance to beat the Barbarians and follow up the women’s team’s earlier victory at Twickenham.
England women put in a dominant display to claim victory in their first match against the invitational side.
Lark Davies crossed for a hat-trick as the Red Roses scored six tries in the 40-14 win.
An inexperienced men’s XV managed by Jim Mallinder then won 51-43 with head coach Eddie Jones watching on.
Red Roses dominant in victory
| England women v Barbarians |
|---|
| England women: (28) 40 |
| Tries: Davies 3, Botterman, Cleall, Smith Cons: Harrison 4, Reed |
| Barbarians: (0) 14 |
| Tries: Wood, Fa’amausili Cons: Snowsill 2 |
England women produced a clinical first half in their inaugural game against Barbarians as they built a 28-point lead by the break.
“It was amazing,” said Davies. “The Barbarians really tested us and hopefully it was a really good showcase for everybody watching.
“It was really hard defensively but we took our chances when we need to and came away with the win.”
England hooker Davies opened the scoring in the first half from a driving maul and grabbed her second after smart scores from Hannah Botterman and Poppy Cleall.
Kelly Smith thought she had added to the Red Roses’ lead after the interval but her superb individual effort was brought back for a forward pass.
It sparked a mini-revival from the Barbarians, who only played their first international in April 2019, with Millie Wood – capped four times by England – and New Zealand’s Fiao’o Fa’amausili crossing.
But Davies then grabbed her hat-trick to pave the way for the Grand Slam winners to retake control and Smith darted over in the corner to round-off England’s win.
Inexperienced England in entertaining form
| England XV v Barbarians |
|---|
| England XV: (31) 51 |
| Tries: Bassett, Hammersley, Smith, Dombrandt 2, J Williams Cons: Smith 6 Pens: Smith 3 |
| Barbarians: (12) 43 |
| Tries: Horwill, Louw, Atkinson 2, Heffernan, R Williams, Naiyaravoro Cons: Slade 3, James |
Head coach Jones was in attendance to witness victory over the Barbarians for Mallinder’s inexperienced XV, which included only one starter – Northampton’s Teimana Harrison – to have played a full international.
None of the squad are expected to be part of Jones’ plans for the World Cup in Japan at this stage, but the Australian will be pleased by the showing and the depth of talent at his disposal.
England enjoyed a strong first half in the non-cap match against a stellar Barbarians line-up, with Wasps winger Josh Bassett darting into the corner to open the scoring.
The Barbarians hit back with two quick tries from captain James Horwill and Francois Louw before full-back Simon Hammersley finished a wonderful breakaway move to re-establish England’s lead.
Fly-half Marcus Smith and Harlequins team-mate Alex Dombrandt increased England’s advantage to 19 points before the break – with the flanker, who only made his senior debut earlier this season, then teeing up Johnny Williams shortly after half-time.
The Barbarians staged a comeback with tries for Rhodri Williams, David Heffernan and a Mark Atkinson double.
But the impressive Smith nudged England further ahead with a penalty, before 22-year-old Dombrandt dived over for his second try to seal the victory and leave the hosts out of reach despite Taqele Naiyaravoro’s late score.
“We spoke about creating memories together, we were full of excitement and to put that performance on was unbelievable,” 20-year-old Smith told Sky Sports.
