England ran in six tries as they beat Georgia 41-10 in Dunedin on Sunday. But the scoreline does not tell the whole story, as England struggled to put the Georgians away in what was an entertaining match.
England conceded too many penalties and spent a three quarters of the first half in their own territory. That they limited the effectiveness of their backs and it was only the stray boot of Georgian fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili that meant the Lelos did not have a lead to defend.
England did manage to pull away in the final quarter to win comfortably, but it was an often bumbling performance and the 20,000 fans will walk away wondering what is in store for Martin Johnson’s side.
Georgia played with immense spirit and the scoreline was harsh on the team. In what will be a small consolation, Mamuka Gorgodze walked away with the man of the match award after a tireless display.
It took England three minutes to get the points on the board, Shontayne Hape picking up the loose ball and running 45 metres to touch down in the land of his birth.
Kvirikashvili missed two penalty attempts inside the first ten minutes in what was a poor outing for the fly half, one from 34 metres and in front.
England then doubled their lead after 22 minutes when Flood broke through the Georgian line and Hape forced his way over.
Kvirikashvili finally got Georgia on the board after 27 minutes when he converted a penalty. Flood hit back seven minutes later before Dylan Hartley was sent to the bin just before the break. Georgia took advantage and from a scrum Dimitri Basilaia went over next to the posts and went into half-time 17-10 down.
Delon Armitage scored England’s third try when he went over in the corner after a good scrum to extendd the lead to 22-10.
Georgia made some strong surges in attack, the backs and forwards combining brilliantly, but they could not finish it off. When they did receive penalties, and England gave away far too many, Kvirikashvili could not find his radar and the tiring Georgian side started to let the game slip.
England did manage to put together a fluent move when centre Manu Tuilagi powered over under the posts to stretch the lead to 29-10.
Chris Ashton ran in England’s last two tries as the lead bellowed out to 26. England play Romania next, a side similar to the Georgians, and after this match they cannot afford to take the Tall Oaks lightly.
England 36
Tries: Hape 2, Ashton 2, Armitage, Tuilagi
Cons: Flood 4
Pens: Flood
Georgia 10
Tries: Basilaia
Cons: Kvirikashvili
Pens: Kvirikashvili