Henry Pollock celebrates after scoring his first of two tries, and England's fifth, in a 45-22 Nations Championship win over Australia at Twickenham
London (AFP) - The European-based section of the inaugural Nations Championship got underway last weekend, with world champions South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, France and England all enjoying convincing wins.
Below AFP Sport looks at three talking points from the fourth round of cross-hemisphere action:
Pollock proves his versatility
Back-row forward Henry Pollock, deployed as a wing against the Wallabies, runs in his second try, and England's sixth, during a 45-22 Nations Championship win over Australia at Twickenham
Coaches dream of players who can cover a variety of positions among their replacements, but there has usually been a difference between forwards and backs when it comes to the composition of the bench.
But back-row forward Henry Pollock took his game to another level by scoring two tries in two minutes on the wing during England’s 45-22 trouncing of Australia at Twickenham after replacing the injured Immanuel Feyi-Waboso at half-time.
Fast-becoming a favourite with younger fans, Pollock’s antics – including his ‘look at me’ try celebrations – annoy traditional rugby followers.
But his quickfire double proved again there is no denying Pollock’s ability.
“I love the challenge,” he said. “I love being nervous at half-time, thinking, ‘This is a new position for me, I’ve never done this for England before’. Out there, it was even more fun, so I hope it happens again. Pressure is a privilege.”
Ireland thrash Pumas but Farrell still wants more
Ireland fly-half Sam Prendergast scored his first try for his country against Argentina two years after making his Test debut
It is not often a side that has scored six tries is subsequently told by their coach they should be “more ruthless”. Yet that was Ireland boss Andy Farrell’s verdict following a 42-12 romp over an under-cooked Argentina in Dublin.
Farrell’s men failed to add to their tally in the final 25 minutes of a one-sided-encounter and the former England international knows easing up will not be an option when the world champion Springboks come to town in a fortnight.
One consolation for Argentina is that in Shaun Edwards they have arguably the best defence coach in the game and come next year’s World Cup in Australia, when these two sides could well meet in the quarter-finals, Ireland are unlikely to find the Pumas in quite so generous a mood.
Defence still matters
Scotland hooker Euan Ashman (R) is tackled by New Zealand scrum-half Cam Roigard (R) during the All Blacks' 43-21 Nations Championship win at Murrayfield
The way the modern game is refereed, Test matches featuring more than 60 points in total are far from unusual. This has led many rugby enthusiasts to lament how their beloved sport is becoming an ever-more high scoring affair akin to basketball.
But defence remains a key point of difference in an era where tries are commonplace.
Scotland have an attack that can trouble the world’s best sides, but their match against New Zealand at Murrayfield was a case in point
Ewan Ashman became the first Scot – and only the fifth player in all – to score a hat-trick of tries in a Test against New Zealand.
The Edinburgh hooker’s impressive first-half treble ultimately counted for little, however. New Zealand denied Scotland a point in the second half while winning 43-21 as they extended their unbeaten run in this fixture to 34 matches since the teams first met in 1905.
“Obviously, the overriding feeling is gutted that we lost, and that’s the first thing,” said Ashman. “I’d trade all the tries to have won that game.”
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