Rugby World Cup: England, Italy make it two wins from two with wins over USA, Canada

England made it two wins from two at the Rugby World Cup as they scored seven tries during a 45-7 rout of the United States in Kobe on Thursday that saw the Eagles receive the first red card of the tournament.

First-half tries from stand-in captain George Ford, Billy Vunipola and Luke Cowan-Dickie gave England a 19-0 lead at the break before Joe Cokanasiga secured the bonus point early in the second half.

Ruaridh McConnochie and Lewis Ludlam then scored their first Test tries before Eagles flanker John Quill was sent off 10 minutes from time for an illegal shoulder charge on replacement back Owen Farrell.

There was still time for Cokanasiga to grab his second try and England’s seventh before Bryce Campbell ensured the USA avoided the embarrassment of being ‘nilled’ with a try after 80 minutes were up. “Good win again. We had to work for it again. USA very physical, passionate team, so we had to earn that win. I thought we did that pretty well,” said Ford.

England, the 2003 world champions, made 10 changes to the side that beat Tonga 35-3 in their Pool C opener in Sapporo last weekend for what was the USA’s first match of this tournament.

Under the closed roof of the Kobe Misaki Stadium, the Eagles suffered an early setback when, after the opening scrum, 19-year-old prop David Ainu’u limped off injured in the third minute.

And three minutes later England had their first try. Number eight Vunipola, making his 11th consecutive Test start, ran the ball from deep before Ford, leading England in place of the benched Farrell, spotted a gap in the poorly aligned defence and ran in a try between the posts which he converted.

England, however, again conceded several early penalties before the forwards provided their second try. Ford, declining a kickable penalty, booted the ball deep for an attacking line-out. The ensuing rolling maul saw Vunipola driven over in the 25th minute, with Ford converting.

By coming off the bench, Youngs joined starting prop Dan Cole in winning his 91st England cap as the pair went into joint third place on the national list alongside 2003 hero Jonny Wilkinson.

England crossed the Eagles’ line again in the 58th minute when Joseph found McConnochie. And against a tiring defence, Ludlam joined McConnochie in scoring a maiden Test try in the 67th minute.

In a tournament where officials have been criticised for failing to implement World Rugby’s directive on dangerous tackles, Australian referee Nic Berry, after consulting the television match official, dismissed Quill for a late hit on Farrell.

The USA next play France in Fukuoka on October 2, while England facing Argentina in Tokyo on October 5. “It was a pretty awful performance by us tonight,” said USA coach Gary Gold, saying that his team needed to improve “every aspect” of their game.

Another crushing win for Italy

Italy ran amok against Canada to bag their second bonus-point win in as many games with a 48-7 Rugby World Cup victory Thursday and vowed to celebrate with an “old-school night”.

It was not a perfect performance as Italy slipped at times from flair and finesse to sloppy, but they did enough to dominate seven tries to one in what was their biggest margin of victory at the World Cup.

With Italy seeking a first World Cup quarter-final berth, their maximum points from two matches sent a message to heavyweights South Africa not to underestimate them.

The Springboks, who lost their opener against New Zealand, paid a high price when they were guilty of taking Japan lightly at the last World Cup and cannot afford to do the same again when they meet Italy in Shizuoka in eight days. “We’ve earned a few drinks tonight probably,” said Italian captain Dean Budd.

Coach Conor O’Shea revealed he had promised his team an “old-school night” after only a four-day turnaround between games, which he said was “tough for any team, mentally as well as physically”. “You have to be pretty happy. I thought we started the game really well and that’s where we imposed ourselves,” said O’Shea.

Italy, still with the All Blacks to play as well as South Africa, showed their depth by making 10 changes to the starting XV when they beat Namibia and were still too strong for the Canadians.

Italy’s explosive start realised 17 points in 15 minutes. Canada arrested the scoring spree for the remainder of the half, but their own scoring opportunities evaporated with missed tackles, a misfiring lineout, and wrong options.

Replacement Matt Heaton dropped the ball when he had the line at his mercy after Tyler Ardron busted his way through the Italian defence.

DTH Van der Merwe confronted Italian fullback Matteo Minozzi with a two-man overlap and fed Gordon McRorie on the outside who was bustled into touch. The second half was barely three minutes old when Italy were on the board again with Sebastian Negri scoring their third try.

Canada went close again when Van der Merwe set up Hassler but the cover defence put the wing out in the corner. A penalty try for an illegal tackle by Heaton ensured the bonus point for Italy and reduced Canada to 14-men with Heaton in the sin bin.

Mattia Bellini stretched the lead to 36-0 before Andrew Coe scored in the right corner to get Canada on the board.

But the Italian pack, who had an impressive night, responded immediately to drive over the line for Federico Zani to touch down, and the backline followed with a long-range attack that ended with a try to Minozzi.