Following a one-point victory over Ireland, the Barbarians took on England at Twickenham on Sunday, but it was an entirely different affair. The home side ran in ten tries as coach Stuart Lancaster was afforded the luxury of trying out a few combinations on the Aviva Premiership Final weekend.
Christian Wade scored a hat-trick of tries, while flyhalf Danny Cipriani put his hand up with a brace, and 11 from 11 kicks at goal. Marland Yarde, Ed Slater, Jack Clifford, Henry Slade and Josh Beaumont also scored tries. Brad Thorn and Thomas Waldrom scored for the Baa-Baas.
“I’ve got to make sure I put my hand up every time I get a chance,” said top points scored Cipriani, who picked up a personal tally of 33 in a Man of the Match performance.
“We played our England way, we played our structure, we didn’t let the game get too lose and on defence we hunted them down and got the ball back which is exactly how we wanted to play,” added Cipriani, who had one of his best ever games in the white jersey.
England’s 73-12 victory was their biggest ever win over the Barbarians, with their previous best being the 57-26 win in May 2012.
While very little can be read into the game, Lancaster will be pleased with such strength in depth just a few months out from the Rugby World Cup. Who impressed you the most?
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