England coach Eddie Jones lauds scrum strength as Georgia vanquished

England hooker Jamie George chips ahead having already scored a hat-trick (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)England hooker Jamie George chips ahead having already scored a hat-trick (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
England hooker Jamie George chips ahead having already scored a hat-trick (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
ENGLAND head coach Eddie Jones conceded his side could have executed better but he was generally pleased with their 40-0 win over Georgia.

The Six Nations champions began the Autumn Nations Cup with a straight-forward success against opponents ranked 12th in the world.

Jamie George became the first England hooker to score a hat-trick of tries as the Red Rose eased home at a drenched and empty Twickenham Stadium.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Georgia are known for the strength of their scrum but the hosts - with Ellis Genge and Will Stuart fronting up - soon got on top in that department.

Jones said: “It’s a good performance from us.

“We wanted to get our set-piece game going.

“Our scrum was outstanding - we wanted to take them on at their trait - our driving maul was good and we probably left another 20 points out there but we’re pretty happy with that display.”

There was little free-flowing rugby of note, George’s treble all coming from that aforementioned driving maul, but that was no surprise given the conditions.

Action from England v Georgia (Getty Images)Action from England v Georgia (Getty Images)
Action from England v Georgia (Getty Images)

Elliot Daly and Dan Robson also scored tries as did Wasps flanker Jack Willis who started on his Test debut while captain Owen Farrell kicked five conversions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We would have liked to have executed a bit better,” added Jones, whose only setback was seeing Bath winger Jonathan Joseph helped off with a back spasm just before half-time.

“We didn't allow them to get into the game.

"The underdog has been able to get into the game a lot in sport recently, but we didn't allow them to upset us.”

Max Malins was another debutant off the bench and England face Ireland next in a week’s time.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1754
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice