"but the sight of the way they played here in the second half against Fiji says more about what's going on than the numbers do. England, whisper it, turned in a brilliantly entertaining 40 minutes of freewheeling rugby against a Fiji team who are a hell of a lot better than their ninth-placed standing in the world rankings suggests. The Fijians invited England to a dance, and, glory be, Steve Borthwick's team were delighted to take them up on it."
"These days the Twickenham playlist is tailored to the kids of the people who pay for the tickets. This game was preceded by an interactive light show, laser display, flamethrowers, a few thousand pounds worth of fireworks, and 15 minutes of hip-hop. But desperate times call for Diamond measures, and half-hour into this match the atmosphere inside the ground was so flat it might have just been run over by Josua Tuisova."
England have won nine Tests in a row and remained unbeaten at home all year. The team produced a brilliantly entertaining 40 minutes of freewheeling rugby in the second half against Fiji, a side stronger than their world ranking suggests. Early play saw England's rolling maul attempt repelled and left them six points down by thirty minutes. Twickenham's pre-match entertainment included lasers, flamethrowers, fireworks and hip-hop, but the atmosphere grew flat. The Fijians invited an open, running game and England embraced it, producing dynamic attacking rugby under Steve Borthwick's guidance.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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