Six England Players Who Made The Most Of Their Chance Against USA

Six England Players Who Made The Most Of Their Chance Against USA

A youthful England team beat a spirited USA side 43-29 at Twickenham on Sunday.

The Americans opened the scoring early on but it did not take long for England to hit back as Max Malins regained the restart to set Sam Underhill up for a try right from the restart. England crossed for a further three first-half tries to lead 26-8 with two injuries occurring in the backline to Ollie Lawrence and Max Malins.

The USA came out far stronger in the second half with a try just two minutes in making it 26-8. England responded with a try with half an hour to play, but a second USA score approaching the hour mark saw the visitors trail just 31-15 heading into the final quarter. Two quick England tries wrapped up the match at 43-15 with ten minutes left on the clock, but the USA showed tremendous fight to run in two late tries to win the second half 26-17, but ultimately fall 14 points short.

 
With Eddie Jones fielding 12 uncapped players in total, we picked out five players who made the most of their opportunity to impress the England boss.
 
 
 
Freddie Steward
 
Albeit against Tier 2 option, Freddie Stewart made the step up to Test rugby seamlessly. The Leicester Tigers' fullback was assured under the high ball and superbly put Ollie Lawrence and Joe Cokanasiga through for tries.
 
 
There are bound to more test caps coming Stewart's way even if there multiple options at Eddie Jones' disposal in the position.
 
 
 
Joe Cokanasiga
 
 
Big Joe scored twice against the Americans during the 2019 Rugby World Cup clash and matched that tally at Twickenham.
 
 
The physically imposing winger enjoyed a fine return to test rugby shining on the attack but also putting in a handy shift on defence with eight tackles and three turnovers.
 
 
 
Harry Randall
 
A few kicking errors, one leading to a try for Cam Dolan, but Randall should what he can bring to Eddie Jones' side.
 
 
He was swift with his service ramping up the English attack while he took his chance to score well. 
 
 
A few work-ons but there is certainly a lot to like about the nippy halfback in the England jersey. 
 
 



 
 
Ellis Genge
England's prop Ellis Genge (L) is closed down by US number 8 Cam Dolan (R) during the international friendly rugby union match between England and United States at Twickenham, south-west London on July 4, 2021. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
 
A more settled member of the England squad but Genge produced a noteworthy performance against Eagles.
 
 
He dominated Paul Mullen in the scrums, carried with vigour making over 10 running metres and driving bodies back on defence. 
 
 
 
Sam Underhill
England's Sam Underhill is tackled by USA's Luke Carty during the Summer Series match at Twickenham Stadium, London. Picture date: Sunday July 4, 2021. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
 
Eddie Jones opted not to call on the services of Sam Underhill during the Six Nations as he recovered from injury and the flanker made an impressive return to the test arena.
 
 
He was furious on defence driving the Eagles' carriers backwards. He worked his socks off to get on the end of his try supporting Max Malins well. He topped the tackle count with 16, five better than any other player, while he weighed in with five turnovers too. 
 
 
 
 
Marcus Smith
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Marcus Smith of England celebrates scoring his team's sixth try during the Summer International Rugby Union match between England and USA at Twickenham Stadium on July 04, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
 
Made the most of his chance in the starting jumper. 
 
 
He dedicated play well, especially considering the disruptions in the backline, with his tactical kicking coming into play as well. 
 
 
His debut was capped off with a try while he missed just one of his tackles. 
 
 
A bit of a shaky display from the tee but that could come with more time in the white jumper.
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
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