25 Sep 2019 | 5 min |

England v USA: preview, teams and stats

Preview, teams and key stats ahead of England's second Rugby World Cup fixture.

England’s second Rugby World Cup fixture sees them take on USA in Kobe as they look to build on Sunday’s victory over Tonga.

George Ford will captain England for Thursday's game (KO 11:45am BST live on ITV) while
prop Dan Cole will play his 91st Test for England becoming the third most capped England men’s player alongside Jonny Wilkinson. Ben Youngs, who is named as a finisher, will join Cole and Wilkinson if he features during the game.

Sale Sharks fly-half AJ MacGinty is named to face England and he will be joined by hooker Joe Taufete'e (Worcester Warriors), prop Titi Lamositele (Saracens), lock Ben Landry (Ealing Trailfinders) and centre Paul Lasike (Harlequins).

The side will be captained by wing Blaine Scully, 31, who previously played for Leicester Tigers and will be featuring in his third World Cup.

When? Thursday 26 September
Kick-off? 11:45am BST
Where? Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe
Coverage? ITV and Radio 5 live, live updates on englandrugby.com

Views from the camp

England head coach Eddie Jones: “USA are a tough, physical team who are extremely well coached by Gary Gold. There are a number of players who our guys know really well and they are a team we respect. They have prepared two weeks with the marines for this game so they will be fit, tough and be playing for the pride of their country.

"They've had two weeks prep and they are going to come out all guns blazing, so we are going to have to be on our job because we know they are going to give it everything they've got like Tonga did.

"We don't need to make statements, the World Cup is not about statements, the World Cup is about progressing with an aim in mind and being at your best when you need to be at your best."

USA head coach Gay Gold: “You need to match fire with fire. When the power and the pace comes from England, we need to have the vigour from a defensive point of view.

“That’s the idea, although it’s a lot easier said than done. We understand the magnitude of what’s coming and we’re excited about it.

“We want to play against teams of the ilk of England because we need to improve. We’ve got massive respect for them — they’re not World Cup contenders for nothing.”

Key stats

England and the USA have met five times before with England winning all those games, three of those clashes have come in Rugby World Cup fixtures in 1987, 1991 and 2007.

The last meeting between England and USA was at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, England winning 28-10 in Lens with Olly Barkley scoring 18 of England’s points that day (1 try, 2 conversions, 3 penalty goals).

Owen Farrell’s (England) dad Andy Farrell came off the bench for England the last time they met the USA (2007 Rugby World Cup), a game in which USA legend Taku Ngwenya made his debut for the Eagles.

England have won all 17 of their Rugby World Cup matches against non-Tier 1 opposition, those wins coming by an average margin of 41 points.

The USA have won just three of 25 previous Rugby World Cup matches (L22), a pair of wins over Japan (1987, 2003) and a victory over Russia in 2011.

Previous meetings

1987: England 34-6 USA (Brisbane)
1991: England 37-9 USA (Twickenham)
1999: England 106-8 USA (Twickenham)
2001: England 48-19 USA (San Francisco)
2007: England 28-10 USA (Lens)

Analysis

Former England centre Tom May picks out three players to watch on Thurday.

TEAMS

England: Elliot Daly; Ruaridh McConnochie, Jonathan Joseph, Piers Francis, Joe Cokanasiga; George Ford, Willi Heinz; Joe Marler, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, George Kruis, Tom Curry, Lewis Ludlam, Billy Vunipola.

Replacements: Jack Singleton, Ellis Genge, Kyle Sinckler, Courtney Lawes, Mark Wilson, Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, Anthony Watson.

USA: 15. Will Hooley, 14. Blaine Scully (capt,), 13. Marcel Brache, 12. Paul Lasike, 11. Martin Iosefo, 10. AJ MacGinty, 9. Shaun Davies, 1. David Ainuu, 2. Joe Taufete'e, 3. Titi Lamositele, 4. Ben Landry, 5. Nick Civetta, 6. Tony Lamborn, 7. John Quill, 8. Cam Dolan.

Replacements: 16. Dylan Fawsitt, 17. Olive Kilifi, 18. Paul Mullen, 19. Greg Peterson, 20. Hanco Germishuys, 21. Ruben de Haas, 22. Bryce Campbell, 23. Mike Te’o

England Men

26 Sep 2019 | 4 min |

England defeat USA at Rugby World Cup

England sealed successive victories at the 2019 Rugby World Cup with a bonus-point 45-7 win over USA in Kobe.

The result sees them top Pool C, having earlier defeated Tonga in their first fixture of the tournament.

England next face Argentina on Saturday 5 October (KO 09:00 BST) and finally France – Saturday 12 October (KO 09:15 BST).

First-half tries from George Ford, Billy Vunipola and Luke Cowan-Dickie gave England a 19-0 lead.

While second-half scores via Joe Cokanasiga (2), Ruaridh McConnochie and Lewis Ludlam sealed the result with Bryce Campbell crossing for a late consoltation.

The fixture marked a sixth meeting between the two countries, with England having won the previous five.

And they made it a sixth victory with a comprehensive win.

Early dominance

For England, it was also a fourth time this year that they have surpassed 40 points. The last time they did so more times in a calendar year was in 2003 (7), including two instances in their triumphant 2003 Rugby World Cup campaign. An omen? It is too early to say, but England looked in fine form on Thursday.

Prop Dan Cole joined Jonny Wilkinson on 91 caps as the third-highest capped men’s England player, with Ben Youngs coming on as a finisher to also achieve the feat. England’s scrum was a particular early area of dominance.

England had a first try, Ford sniping through midfield after Vunipola had got the side on the front foot with a typically robust carry through the USA defence.

After resilient USA defence the pressure eventually told and England's forwards started to dominate.

The second try eventually came. A penalty was kicked to USA's 5m line and from the resulting lineout maul, England's forwards bundled over with Vunipola dotting down.

They followed suit before half time, another Ford penalty was kicked to the corner and England's forwards drove from 22m with Cowan-Dickie the man to cross.

Defence

Eddie Jones had hailed his side’s defence against Tonga, and it was equally as tight on Thursday with a late USA try the only blot on an otherwise solid display,

And it was key feature of Thursday's performance with defence giving England a solid foundation in which to build from in Kobe.

The bonus-point was sealed in the early stages of the second-half through Cokanasiga who was the grateful recipient of some superb feet and hands from Jonathan Joseph who jinked his way through the USA defence.

McConnochie rolled over in the corner for a fifth England try after the three-quarters had recycled the ball wide and Ludlam had a sixth taking advantage of an overlap.

John Quill was red carded with 10 minutes left for an illegal tackle on Owen Farrell and England took advantage of the space with Cokanasiga powering through for a seventh try.

USA had the final say of the game though, Campbell crossing in stoppage time to get his side on the board.

Who scored?

England: Tries – Ford, Vunipola, Cowan-Dickie, McConnochie, Ludlam, Cokanasiga 2 Cons – Ford 5

USA: Tries – Campbell Cons – MacGinty

Teams

England: Elliot Daly; Ruaridh McConnochie, Jonathan Joseph, Piers Francis, Joe Cokanasiga; George Ford, Willi Heinz; Joe Marler, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, George Kruis, Tom Curry, Lewis Ludlam, Billy Vunipola.