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The England verdict on the record-tying five-try Henry Arundell
By Liam Heagney
England have reacted to the record-tying five-try performance from Henry Arundell in their 71-0, 11-try thumping of Rugby World Cup minnows Chile.
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The youngster, who was making just his third Test career start and his first appearance at France 2023, was six days shy of his first birthday when Josh Lewsey scored five tries in November 2003 versus Uruguay in Brisbane as part of the Clive Woodward side that ultimately lifted the title in Australia.
Steve Borthwick’s class of 2023 are still four long odds wins away from replicating that triumph, starting with their October 7 Pool D finale versus Samoa, but they were glad at finally seeing their attack produce a cutting edge after months of hard toil under their new head coach.
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Arundell, who was anonymous in his previous two England starts under Borthwick, made it third time lucky with the No14 jersey on his back. He enjoyed two first-half walk-ins – his first ended 20 minutes of a nil-nil stalemate – before scoring three more after the break that involved a bit more effort.
There will now be a clamour for him to retain the starting shirt when England’s campaign restarts next month following a 14-day gap between matches.
However, it remains to be seen whether his five-try salvo against the tournament’s lowest-ranked team eclipses either Elliot Daly or Jonny May, the tryless wingers preferred by Borthwick in the opening wins over Argentina and Japan.
“He played really well. He took those opportunities. He is a fantastic finisher. The message to him was to bring his point of difference onto the pitch, to back himself and he certainly did that in those opportunities,” Borthwick initially enthused post-game in Lille before deflecting the praise away from the youngster to
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“You have to credit as well the people who play on the inside who create those opportunities. I thought you saw a great blend. The team played in a few different ways at different times – led by Owen (Farrell) – and managed through what was a challenging spell at the start of the game.
“It is important that we credit Chile who I thought played in a real courageous and committed manner, and the players worked their way through that period and took their opportunities really well.”
Skipper Farrell, who gave Arundell the assist for the game’s opener with a long pass to his right, was impressed by the winger’s overall display, not just his finishing.
“Everybody knows what talent Henry has got. He has shown it before. He has shown it for London Irish, he has shown it when he got his first touch in international rugby in Australia and we all know.
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“A big thing that Henry showed was that he got after everything in between as well. He didn’t just finish tries. He got balls back in the air, he chased hard, he worked hard for the team and ultimately he got his rewards off the back of that and did what he does unbelievably well.”
