Barbarians sweep past England newcomers

England 12 Barbarians 32

Hopes that England’s annual fixture against the Barbarians would unveil the next generation of World Cup winners proved somewhat optimistic as Clive Woodward’s development side were swept aside at Twickenham this afternoon.

Only Mark Regan remained of the squad which lifted the Webb Ellis Trophy last November as Woodward found his selectorial options drastically reduced by the weekend’s Zurich Premiership finals and next month’s tour Down Under.

The England boss had hoped today’s contest would indicate which players on the fringes of international recognition could eventually fills the shoes of Lawrence Dallaglio and co but he will have been left bitterly disappointed.

Facing a Barbarians side which numbered 688 caps in its starting line-up, England found themselves hopelessly outclassed by their opponents’ invention and superiority in the forward exchanges.

They showed a marked improvement in the third quarter when they finally began to create gaps but only the kicking of Dave Walder kept them in touch with the Newcastle fly-half booting four penalties.

The Barbarians scored two tries in the opening 10 minutes through Jason Leonard and Shane Horgan as they tore into their inexperienced opponents from the start.

Leonard’s try was particularly well received by the near sell-out crowd with the Test centurion and man of the match making his Twickenham farewell against the team he had served with such distinction for over a decade.

The Harlequins prop – who has finished his career as the world’s most capped player – received an almighty cheer when he took to the pitch a minute before his team-mates and was given a standing ovation on his exit.

Bruce Reihana, Bobby Skinstad and Malcolm O’Kelly completed the Barbarians’ try count with Skinstad’s touchdown arriving in a second half which was short on entertainment as the worsening weather conditions took their toll.

It was a different matter early on, however, as the Barbarians made a dream start with just three minutes on the clock before they managed to pierce their opponents’ defence.

Former All Black scrum-half Mark Robinson did the damage, jinking in and out before moving within a couple of yards of the line where Leonard was on hand to finish the move off. David Humphreys converted.

Humphreys’ Ireland team-mate Horgan then capitalised on a blunder by Michael Horak and Nick Walshe to extend the lead – as the England duo tried to clear a Brian O’Driscoll kick the ball popped clear and Triple Crown winner touched down.

A Dave Walder penalty narrowed the gap but the Barbarians were still in full control, briefly threatening down the right flank through Robinson and Wallaby Owen Finegan.

A second penalty from Walder further ate into the Barbarians’ lead as England began to build some momentum but their ascendancy was only brief as Reihana crossed in the 25th minute.

Horgan did the damage with a rampaging charge down the left wing and possession was quickly recycled to Humphreys whose perfectly-timed inside pass found Reihana at full tilt.

Only Walder’s boot was keeping Sir Clive Woodward’s men in touch with two more penalties as the Barbarians – who were playing the best rugby by some margin - were made to pay for their indiscipline.

But they had the last word in an entertaining half as Humphreys bisected the posts with a long-range penalty.

A bone-crunching tackle by Reihana on skipper Hugh Vyvyan halted one promising move from England and moments later the Barbarians were down to 14 men after substitute Skinstad – who had just come on – was sin-binned for slowing the ball down.

Woodward’s half-time team talk had obviously done the trick as England attacked their opponents with far greater gusto after the interval, although they were still being hampered by their shortcomings in the line-out.

A dropped pass from Andy Hazell cost them a certain try in the corner with the over-stretched Barbarians defence frantically shuffling across to deal with the threat.

And former Springbok skipper Skinstad – who had returned to the pitch – rubbed salt into the wound by intercepting a loose pass from Walder and strolling home under the posts with Humphreys converting.

Leonard was cheered from the pitch in the 67th minute but the crowd had little else to celebrate as in terms of entertainment the match had disintegrated.

The last try epitomised the nature of the final 20 minutes as Ireland lock Malcolm O’Kelly peeled off the back of a maul and dived over, completing a miserable afternoon for Woodward’s young guns.