Summary

  • England beat Tonga 35-3 in their first World Cup match in Sapporo

  • Tuilagi powers over for two tries in first half

  • Hookers George & Cowan-Dickie score in second half to seal bonus point

  • Eddie Jones 'happy with players' attitude' but admits team lacked cohesion

  1. Bye for nowpublished at 14:07 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    Wales v Georgia (Monday, 11:15 BST)

    Media caption,

    Shaun Edwards on Wales preparing to face Georgia in bad weather

    We will see you there for that.

    To whet the appetite, why not catch up on going-ons in the Wales camp with Hadleigh Parkes' BBC Sport column?

    Or catch up on why Shaun Edwards is comparing the current Wales crop to England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winners?

    Bye for now.

  2. Tomorrow's actionpublished at 14:01 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    Wales v Georgia (11:15 BST)

    Leigh HalfpennyImage source, AFP

    After triple-headers on Saturday and Sunday, the stage is cleared on Monday for Wales to make their Japan 2019.

    Warren Gatland's men will take on a Georgia side, who lost 44-10 to Scotland in Tiblisi last month.

    A bonus-point victory is the very least of expectations. Kick-off is 11:15 BST. You can catch it live on BBC Radio 5 live with Mantej Mann on live-text keys.

  3. What else happened today?published at 13:58 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    Day three in Japan has been another thoroughly entertaining day of World Cup rugby.

    It started with Italy's routine victory over Namibia in changeable weather conditions...

    Tommaso AllanImage source, Getty Images

    Then Ireland kicked their campaign off with a comfortable victory over Six Nations rivals Scotland...

    Ireland celebrateImage source, Getty Images

    And finally, England got their tournament underway with a scrappy win over Tonga.

    England scoreImage source, Getty Images
  4. 'We've got a lot more in us'published at 13:56 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    Becky Grey
    BBC Sport at Sapporo Dome

    Part of Owen Farrell's post-match interview was drowned out by cheers from the crowd as England lined up to thank the fans, but here are the bits I heard:

    "It's a good start. There's a lot to work on. Tonga are a very physical team. Mistakes are mistakes, we've still got a lot more in us.

    "Even though it's indoors, it's pretty hot and sweaty and the ball felt like that in the end, we probably need to get it in our hands a bit earlier and look after it."

  5. 'He's like one of those racehorses'published at 13:51 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    Eddie Jones added on BBC Radio 5 Live Sport:

    "Henry Slade is good, he just needed a bit of extra strapping. He’s like one of those racehorses, you’ve got to put a bit of extra strapping on sometimes.

    "We’ll have a look who’s got knocks and who hasn’t got knocks but we’ll put our best 23 out against the USA."

    Henry SladeImage source, Getty Images
  6. Postpublished at 13:47 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    BBC Radio 5 Live

    More from Eddie Jones on BBC Radio 5 Live Sport:

    "We’ve got five points and we can’t change anything now.

    "You go out with all the best intentions to be sharp, you’ve got a picture in your head that you’re going to play some good rugby and it doesn’t work out like that.

    "We showed no frustration. The only time they got in our 22 was in the last minute of the game which gives you a show of the superiority we had.

    "Watching the players come off, they’re covered in sweat so that was a bit of an issue. But what a great day for rugby.

    "Sapporo Dome, 45,000 people, Tonga fight above their weight and we get five points."

  7. 'I was so pleased with the players'published at 13:44 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    BBC Radio 5 Live

    Eddie Jones told BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones on BBC Radio 5 Live Sport:

    "We weren’t sharp today but what I really liked was the attitude of our players.

    "That’s the second Test in a row we haven’t conceded a try and that gives you a real feel of where we’re at as a team.

    "We lacked a bit of cohesion for some reason today. Maybe that’s the dislocated training we’ve had over the last couple of weeks.

    "As coaches we need to look at that but I was so pleased with the players."

    Eddie JonesImage source, Getty Images
  8. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 13:43 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    #bbcrugby

    Russ: Let’s not beat around the bush. Were England perfect? No. Did they do the job? Yes. Bonus point win and all-but closing Tonga out. Gone are the days of thrashing WC minnows by dozens of points. Eddie knows now what needs fixing for the latter stages. England on the rise

  9. 'That is rugby'published at 13:40 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    More from Eddie Jones: "I'm happy with the players' attitude and I think they applied themselves well. We didn't execute well but that is rugby. It's a bit like playing Stoke City, the ball went out a lot and maybe that was their intention."

    On Manu Tuilagi: "He has got pace and power and he ran some great lines. He is going to have a great World Cup. We have five points and no serious injuries so that is a blessing for us."

  10. 'Damned if you do, damned if you don't'published at 13:38 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    Speaking to ITV, England head coach Eddie Jones said: "These are always difficult games, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. Tonga played really hard and that is what the World Cup is all about. It is great for the competition and for the crowd and we weren't sharp enough but we have a few games to go before we really need to be.

    "Some days it flows and some days it doesn't. We dropped a couple of balls that would normally result in tries but you have 80 minutes to score four tries and we did that. One thing I'm very happy about is that we haven't conceded a try in the last two tests."

  11. 'England won’t be happy with that'published at 13:37 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    Matt Dawson
    England World Cup winner on BBC Radio 5 Live

    England won’t be happy with that. Ten penalties I made it, numerous handling errors. That’s unacceptable for the standards that Owen Farrell and Eddie Jones have set. They’re the sorts of things that you can fix and work on. I’m hoping they don’t flog them to death.

    One thing that did stand out that we didn’t mention was that England looked a little bit leggy. We didn’t see much of Billy Vunipola or Maro Itoje or Kyle Sinckler crashing forward. There wasn’t much fizz.

  12. Get involvedpublished at 13:34 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    #bbcrugby

    John: everyone comparing this with the thrashing the ABs handed Tonga do realise that was a warm up I presume? We put 50 odd points on Ireland, do you really think that would have happened in a WC match?

  13. England go toppublished at 13:31 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    Pool C tableImage source, BBC Sport
  14. 'They’ve given away too many penalties'published at 13:31 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    Paul Grayson
    Former England fly-half on BBC Radio 5 Live

    People are going to make mistakes, it’s very sweaty here.

    The only question for me is - is England’s indiscipline a trait that you can’t switch off? If you have a tendency to give penalties away, that’s a very difficult mindset to change week to week. It’s been consistent throughout Eddie Jones’ reign with England, they’ve given away too many penalties.

  15. Match statspublished at 13:26 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    England-Tonga

    Possession: 47%-53%

    Territory: 56%-44%

    Metres run: 670-159

    Tackles made/attempted: 102/121-75/104

    Turnovers conceded: 17-14

    Penalties conceded: 10-9

  16. 'A few niggles'published at 13:20 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    Danny Care
    Harlequins and England scrum-half on BBC Radio 5 Live

    I think there are a few niggles. Henry Slade was a training injury. The way England train is harder than games so they are doing sessions which are more physical than a match.

  17. Skin-tight swap shoppublished at 13:20 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    Becky Grey
    BBC Sport at Sapporo Dome

    Anthony WatsonImage source, Getty Images

    All the players are swapping shirts. Anthony Watson had to help his Tongan opponent get his on though - there was a bit of a size difference. Even Jonathan Joseph had to step in to help.

  18. Next uppublished at 13:18 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    FT: England 35-3 Tonga

    Next up for England is a short turnaround and the United States in Kobe on Thursday.

    Tonga, who look like they will give everyone else in the Pool a right old game, play Argentina on Saturday.

  19. 'Tonga put up an almighty fight'published at 13:18 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    Chris Jones
    BBC rugby union correspondent at the Sapporo Dome

    There's a few hands on hips. Maro Itoje has the look of a man who knows it was OK but could be better. Tonga put up an almighty fight and really had their moments today.

  20. 'Plenty for them to work on'published at 13:17 British Summer Time 22 September 2019

    Paul Grayson
    Former England fly-half on BBC Radio 5 Live

    They’ve got half a dozen gears to go through at least. They’ll be happy with the win but plenty for them to work on this week.