England 70-14 Canada: Radwan sets the pace for Eddie’s youth revolution

THERE were hat-tricks for Newcastle Falcons duo Jamie Blamire and Adam Radwan – and a Lions call-up just after halftime for Marcus Smith – as a young England outfit impressed for most of the 80 minutes against a game but outclassed Canada.

It was probably Radwan's pace and nose for the try line that had the most immediate relevance for England – he is a major emerging talent – while word of Smith's call-up spread around the ground after the break although the player himself wasn't told until he came off in the 65th minute.

After the match he received a standing ovation from his colleagues out on the pitch, another memorable Twickenham moment for the Quins man.

England were quick out of the blocks with a try inside a minute from Blamire from a textbook lineout after the Canucks had made a horrible mess of fielding Smith's kick – the kind of malfunction that happens when you haven't played 80 minutes of Test rugby since the 2019 World Cup.

Canada did hit back with a sharply-taken tapped penalty try from lively scrum-half Ross Braude, who looks a player of some promise, and in fact his team should have scored moments before but fullback Cooper Coats managed to blow an obvious overlap with the line begging.

Peter Nelson converted but it was the last moment of joy in a long while for the Canadians as England went ruthlessly to work to emphasise the gap between the two nations.

Blamire was poised for a second try from a lineout when Canada dragged it down to concede a penalty try, and then came the moment most England fans had been waiting for.

Radwan scored seven tries in eleven matches for Falcons last season and would have scored more but for an untimely knee injury. He has serious gas, as demonstrated by a social media posting that went viral earlier this week of him scoring a length of the field wonder-try in training.

Could he replicate that in a full-on match? Well, he had only 35 metres to go but Radwan's astonishing acceleration drew a gasp from the crowd as he dismissed three Canadian defenders in an instant. Try all the way and a little cameo that left you wanting to see much more.

 

Over the line: Ellis Genge scores the seventh try

At which stage big Joe Cokanasiga, who had started the game by dropping a simple pass from Henry Slade on the overlap, took centre stage with a brace of tries.

His comeback from that serious knee injury at RWC2019 has been long and frustrating but you feel he is finally getting back to his best.

The first came after a barnstorming run from Ellis Genge and the good rugby sense of Alex Dombrandt, who sent the Bath wing sprinting into the corner with a wellexecuted pass, while the second was all down to Cokanasiga's raw power running through Nelson rather in the manner that Jonah Lomu ran through Mike Catt and others back in the day. Ouch. England then stuttered a little and skipper Lewis Ludlow was possibly lucky to escape with just a yellow card in the 29th minute when, stepping high and carelessly into a ruck, his knee made contact with the face of Jake Ilnicki, which required the Canadian prop to leave the field with a bloody nose and an HIA.

Officialdom took the view it was essentially a rugby incident but then again so are the majority of tackles that make contact with opposition heads and they are now deemed red cards.

There was no obvious need to step into the ruck, the ball was elsewhere, and the raised knee looked odd. The Gloucester man dodged a bit of a bullet there.

Down to 14 men, England then conceded two quick penalties in succession and Canada settled in for a good period of controlled, patient pressure, which ended with quick hands moving the ball left to right and a very well taken try by Kaiona Lloyd.

It needed the well-educated left boot of the ultra-reliable Henry Slade to settle England down again just before the break, putting one of those long touch finders right into the corner with the almost inevitable result that Blamire rumbled over for his second try with Smith again landing the conversion. He didn't miss all afternoon.

At 42-14 the game as a contest was obviously long over but what could England produce after the break? The answer was a cracking third quarter before it all trailed off a little.

 

Gas man: Adam Radwan runs in to score his third try

PICTURES: Getty Images

 

Power play: Joe Cokanasiga scores the fifth try for England

The hard-working Genge, conspicuous all afternoon punching holes in the midfield as well as around the fringes, was on hand to plunge over after strong work from Dan Kelly.

Next came a cracker for Radwan, his second, which started originally when Cokanasiga took a quick throw deep in his own half to Smith to get England on the move.

Radwan looked like he might go the length of the field himself but got well tackled by Nelson. The move, however, continued and eventually came back to Radwan's wing and Dombrandt, who could have scored himself, did the decent thing and passed on to the quick man to make doubly sure.

Blamire completed his hat-trick with another well executed lineout rumble but the treble which took the attention came moments later when that man Radwan soared high to collect a Dan Robson box ball in his own half and, landing in space, hit the turbos and disappeared for a startling try.

■By BRENDAN GALLAGHER

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England…………..70pts

Tries: Blamire 1, 40, 59; Penalty 13, Radwan 15, 50, 61; Cokanasiga 20, 23; Genge 46

Conversions: Smith 2, 16, 22, 25, 41, 46, 52, 60, 63

Canada …………..14pts

Tries: Braude 10, Lloyd 33

Conversions: Nelson 11, 34