Murley bags hat-trick as England A thump much-weakened Portugal
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 25: Cadan Murley of England scores a try during the rugby international match between England A and Portugal at Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium on February 25, 2024 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
By NICK POWELL
England A……………………………………………91
Tries: Blamire 3, Pearson 6, Barbeary 14, Tuima 19, Muir 25, Murley 29, 72, 76; Hodge 34, Ojomoh 40+1, Penalty 42, Riley 53, Shilcock 58, Beard 63, Fisilau 68
Conversions: Hodge 20, 26, 30, 35, 40+2; Shilcock 64, 69
Portugal………………………………………………..5
Tries: Vareiro 60
Cadan Murley scored three of England A’s 15 tries as they strolled past a brave but heavily weakened Portugal side in their first fixture for over seven years.
With players committed to Top 14 club duty or rested Os Lobos had to change their entire XV from the side that beat Romania last weekend with only the replacement front row forwards from that victory, all starting this game, in both squads.
The reality of the gulf in class was laid bare in a first half where England ran up a half-century of points with eight tries from as many different scorers.
Portugal never gave up, and Manuel Vareiro scored a second-half try to a huge roar from the Welford Road crowd, but with England scoring another seven this was a mismatch that needs to be followed up with much-better organised fixtures if it is to be a meaningful step in the long run.
England’s forward pack was utterly dominant throughout, using their huge physical advantage to win penalties from almost every scrum – regardless of who went into the set piece with possession.
That dominance also translated to their driving maul which was the source of their first and third tries as Jamie Blamire and Alfie Barbeary finished things off, either side of Tom Pearson’s flying finish in the corner after Charlie Atkinson’s superb misspass.
Atkinson failed to convert any of England’s first three tries, but Josh Hodge made no mistake as the new kicker for the fourth after Rusi Tuima had crashed over off the back of some powerful phase play from England, with Vareiro sin-binned for cynical play in the build-up.
Though Portugal enjoyed a brief spell of attack, Tuima was at the forefront of England’s next score five minutes later as he picked up, pirouetted and offloaded to Will Muir for an easy run in on the left.
Murley then got his first down the right, with Hodge making sure all the back three scored tries before half-time, as he finished off a break started by Harry Randall, and slotted another tricky conversion to make it four in a row.
The hosts had to wait till the very end of the half to make it 50, but it was worth the delay as a deft chip from Atkinson bounced perfectly into the hands of Max Ojomoh to complete the scoring in the first period.
Having finished the first half with perhaps the best try of the contest, the second period started with undoubtedly the worst as England were awarded a penalty try after destroying a Portuguese scrum on the visitors’ put-in five metres out.
Tuima was denied the first brace of the game as he was brilliantly held up by Antonio Maria Prim – one of the trio who came off the bench for Portugal’s main team last week – and then Ojomoh also missed out on a double as he dropped a sympathetic offload from Atkinson when the fly-half looked as if he could have scored himself.
Eventually it was another new scorer that crossed as Sam Riley finished the tenth try a few phases after his own storming break up the right touchline, before Jamie Shillock crashed through five tackles to dot down in the left.
A crowd fast losing their enthusiasm and interest then produced their biggest cheer of the day as 19-year-old Vareiro more than made up for his sin-bin with a superb take, burst and step after a staggered English kick chase to score in the corner.
It was a special moment, and the least the inexperienced Lobos deserved for their sustained effort, but with the referee continuing to impose brutal standards on the visitors at the ruck England were provided the field position to score four more times.
Oscar Beard found a gap near the ruck, the lively Greg Fisilau powered his way over and Murley snuck in near the left hand touchline and then walked in down the right to wrap up his hat-trick and take England’s total past 90.
TEAMS
ENGLAND A: Hodge, Murley, Beard, Ojomoh, Muir, Atkinson, Randall; Baxter, Blamire, Heyes, Tuima, Ewels (c), Pearson, Pepper, Barbeary
Replacements: Riley, Haffar, Iosefa-Scott, Bamber, Fisilau, Englefield, Shillcock, Hartley
PORTUGAL: Almeida, Vila Gomes, Leita, Nobre, Cortes, Vareiro, Cardoso; Arrojado (c), Vicente, Prim, Andrade, Fernandes, Ribeiro, Almeida, Roque
Replacements: de Cunha, Rodrigues, Turabelidze, Batista, Cabaco, Almeida, Cortes, do Carmo Camara
Star Man: Tom Pearson (England)
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)
Attendance: 15,153
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