England has been sluggish in its warm-up matches and group events. It has not yet found a remedy for conceding too many penalties. England also has immense trouble in navigating the game from the deep, and there is too much chaos between the defense and attacking section. Yet, with all these negatives, England had an easy measure of Georgia 41-10. It was quite expected considering it thrashed Georgia 86-4 in their only last encounter in 2003 rugby World Cup, Perth.
To add to the worry, Dylan Hart was moved to the sin-bin and this was certainly not an exception for English team. One can say that they won more because of Georgia’s goalkeeper Merab Kvirikashvilli’s mistake. He missed 5 out of 6 penalties; otherwise the score line would definitely have read a different story.
England, more potent in their back-line than in upper half, took strength from there. Shontayne Hape started the proceedings and then repeated within 20 minutes. Then it was left to Delon Armitage, Manu Tuilagi and Chris Ashton to complete the formalities.
Georgia reeled under pressure, more of their own doing, as Irakli Machkhaneli showed impatience and placed his feet while touching down. That, compounded by Merab’s follies is bound to hurt Georgian hearts, and more importantly, their chances of progress.
England, who now sits pretty in their group, have to work out strategies quick and fast. They have conceded more penalties than getting them in all matches barring the one against Argentina. They are finding it tough to rally from the deep and forge a combination between the two halves. This will be a huge drawback, as the tournament advances and better teams come in the fray.
Moreover, they still are finding ways to escape thorough criticism for their night out after Argentina’s match a week ago. This led to good enough security right through this Sunday’s match.
