Autumn Nations Series: England cruise past Tonga 69-3 in Owen Farrell's absence
Two tries apiece from Jonny May, Ben Youngs and Jamie George set England on course for a comfortable win; Adam Radwan, Maro Itoje, Marcus Smith, Jamie Blamire and Alex Mitchell also got over; Tonga had two men sin-binned and Viliame Fine sent off
By Marc Bazeley at Twickenham
Last Updated: 07/11/21 7:47am
England shrugged off the Covid-enforced absence of captain Owen Farrell to kick off the Autumn Nations Series with a comfortable 69-3 victory over Tonga at Twickenham.
The hosts were firmly in control at half-time, leading 29-3 on the back of tries from Adam Radwan, Jamie George, Jonny May, Maro Itoje and Ben Youngs, while Tonga's only points of the half came from the boot of captain Sonatane Takulua.
Tonga, beaten 60-14 by Scotland last weekend, were not helped by having wingers Solomone Kata and Walter Fifita sin-binned either side of half-time, with both Youngs, May and George adding to their respective try tallies after the break.
Marcus Smith, the fly-half touted as one of the stars of England's next generation, capped a fine second-half cameo with a try and five conversions, while Jamie Blamire and debutant Alex Mitchell got over late on as well. Tonga, meanwhile, finished with 14 men after Viliame Fine was sent off for foul play.
Much of the immediate focus in the build-up for England had been around whether Farrell would be able to feature after testing positive for Covid-19 and his absence was eventually confirmed around an hour and a quarter before kick-off.
George Furbank therefore stepped up off the bench to take over from the skipper at fly-half while his Northampton Saints club-mate Courtney Lawes was handed the captaincy. Elsewhere, the previously-uncapped Mark Atkinson, who came on in the second half at inside centre, took Furbank's place among the replacements.
Depending on what happens next, Farrell could miss next Saturday's Test against Australia and while the Wallabies will be expected to pose a sterner examination than Tonga, there were nonetheless plenty of positives for head coach Eddie Jones to take from this display.
When the match did eventually get under way - kick-off being delayed by 10 minutes due to a late team arrival - England allayed any worries they would be affected by the pre-match disruption by opening the scoring with just three minutes gone.
An early line-out conceded by the visitors inside their own 22 saw the hosts work the ball to the left and although May was halted out wide, England recycled possession back across the field for Youngs to pick out Radwan with a cut-out pass for the Newcastle Falcons wing to show his pace and power to finish.
England were in again 10 minutes later, this time utilising brute force to get the job done after kicking to touch twice from penalties and, on the second time, setting up a powerful drive from the line-out which saw George - initially left out of Jones' autumn squad until injuries led to a recall - peel off the back to dot down.
Scrum-half Takulua got the Tongans on the board just before the midway point of the first half with a penalty goal having missed one just minutes earlier, but it was not long before England were in again for their third try.
Tom Curry and Furbank shifted the ball quickly to the right to send Manu Tuilagi racing away down the touchline and although he was eventually brought down, the home side kept the pressure on and switched play to the left where Freddie Steward sent in May to finish for a try which this time Henry Slade converted.
Tonga's task was made harder when Kata was shown a 32nd-minute yellow card for taking out fellow winger May in the air and England's response was immediate, with Lawes sending Ellis Genge on a lung-busting line-break before the prop passed back inside for Itoje to finish followed by Slade adding the extras.
There was still more to come on the stroke of half-time after England again kicked to touch from a penalty, with George taking the ball and flicking it inside to Youngs for the Leicester Tigers man to race away for his first of the afternoon.
Tonga had been unlucky not to grab a try of their own when full-back Telusa Veainu had been scythed down inches from the line by Lawes' brilliant last-gasp tackle and that was compounded when Fifita's yellow card for a deliberate knock-on five minutes after the restart again left them temporarily a man down.
Youngs then showed some superb alertness to grab his second, ripping the ball from No. 8 Sione Vailanu's grasp following a scrum and racing nearly 60 metres downfield to score, with Slade's conversion attempt striking the posts.
May's second followed just before the hour mark as No 9 Youngs sent him towards the line, with the Gloucester man reaching out to dot down after being tackled just short. Smith slotted over the conversion for good measure, too, soon after coming on.
Fine's dismissal for a forearm smash to the face of Smith on the ground with just over 10 minutes left summed up what was turning into a miserable afternoon for Tonga, and George's second from another line-out drive followed by Smith, Blamire and Mitchell all crossing before the final whistle saw England send the sell-out crowd at Twickenham home happy.