Cowan-Dickie scores in Irish rout
By Mark Stevens
24/8/19
Luke Cowan-Dickie grabbed his second England try in his three games as he helped England produce a dominant display to sink visiting Ireland 57-15 at Twickenham.
In their third warm-up game ahead of the Rugby World Cup, Eddie Jones's side ran in eight tries to register their largest winning margin against the visitors.
Ireland crossed first through Jordan Larmour, but Joe Cokanasiga, Elliot Daly and Manu Tuilagi all scored as the hosts built a 12-point half-time lead.
England added further tries from Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Tom Curry, Cokanasiga and Cowan-Dickie, who produced a carbon copy of his score against Wales at the same venue earlier this month when he picked off an overthrown line-out to power over.
Jones got the response he would have been looking for after England were beaten by Wales in a lacklustre display in Cardiff last weekend. In contrast, Ireland looked way off the pace set by the home side and missed the chance to overtake Wales at the top of the world rankings.
Post-game, Jones was quick to praise his side’s on-field efforts, but insisted there was still ‘more to come’ from his team ahead of the tournament which kicks-off on next month.
"I was pleased with the intensity of the players and their application of the game plan,” said Jones. "We have played some good games in my time. The Grand Slam match against France, beating Australia 3-0, we played superbly against New Zealand in the first half last year.
"This was a performance for the 80 minutes but we don't know where Ireland are in their preparation so it can be misleading."
He added: "Our aim is to be the best side in the world and we're moving in the right direction but are we ready to win the World Cup, no?
"We have to concentrate on our group matches and take it each game at a time. That's our focus."
England have one final warm-up game, against Italy on Friday, 6 September in Newcastle, before they head to Sapporo for their World Cup opener.
Cowan-Dickie will hope to play some part in that fixture, as will club-mate Henry Slade, who has missed the opening three warm-up games with a knee injury. However, Jack Nowell - the third Chief in Jones’ 31-man World Cup squad - is unlikely to play against the Azzurri and will need to prove his fitness before England head to Japan.
