Henry Arundell plundered five tries as England overcame a frantic start to dismantle World Cup newcomers Chile with a 71-0 victory that continues their march towards the quarter-finals.
Steve Borthwick’s team were rewarded for discarding their unpopular kicking game in favour of all-out attack and although the strategy resulted in some frenzied early play, upon settling they amassed 11 tries.
Arundell marked his World Cup debut by equalling the England record of five tries scored in a game as he ran riot in perfect conditions at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Two-try Marcus Smith shared star billing after providing an extra dimension with the ball in hand from full-back – albeit against a side positioned 22 in the global rankings.
Apart from brief flourishes Chile were totally outclassed, yet there were still enough fireworks in Smith’s first start at 15 to suggest he is a genuine option in the position for the final group game against Samoa and possibly beyond.
Owen Farrell returned from suspension to lead England for the first time at this World Cup and his 16-point haul leaves him just two short of eclipsing Jonny Wilkinson’s national record of 1,179.
England had kicked more than other team across the opening two rounds of the tournament but their intent to run against the group’s weakest opponents was evident from the start.
Smith settled quickly through some early touches but his play lacked accuracy and once the initial assault subsided, Chile showed their flair for counter attack that on one occasion swept them into the 22.
Max Malins’ high error count was proving costly but England built pressure once more and in the 21st minute they were over when Farrell’s long pass gave Arundell an easy run in.
Theo Dan finished a line-out drive and then supplied Arundell with the easiest of tries after Danny Care’s quickly taken free-kick caught Chile unaware.
After the over-exuberance displayed in the opening quarter, England were showing greater accuracy as the ball was swept left to right, aided by quick ruck speed and a desire to make things happen.
Smith launched an attack that ended in a try for Bevan Rodd and then the Harlequins fly-half claimed a solo touchdown by collecting his own grubber and outrunning Chile’s defence.
Chile were unable to secure any kind of foothold in the game with their scrum especially vulnerable and early in the second half they leaked a second line-out maul try, with Dan touching down.
Arundell completed his hat-trick after Elliot Daly’s smart kick bounced kindly for him and Smith’s comfort at full-back was clear when he caught a tricky kick with aplomb.
Having claimed three easy finishes, Arundell showed his class for his fourth which he engineered with a run down the right touchline and chip ahead.
A moment of magic from Smith teed up the Racing 92 wing’s fifth and when Smith broke from deep from inside his own half Chile must have been sick of the sight of him.
The move ended with Smith crossing and England touched down for the final time through Jack Willis.
Southgate lauds Mainoo talent as England group together for Euro 2024
England manager Gareth Southgate has no doubt over the talent of Kobbie Mainoo after watching the Manchester United youngster flourish this campaign.
Mainoo was on target in Saturday's FA Cup final victory over rivals Manchester City as Man Utd triumphed 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.
Having caressed past Stefan Ortega in the first half, 19-year-old Mainoo became the first English teenager to score in an FA Cup final since Steve MacKenzie for City against Tottenham in 1981.
That match-winning finish capped a fine breakthrough campaign for Mainoo, who has been rewarded with a place in England's preliminary squad for Euro 2024.
As the Three Lions joined together for their pre-tournament training camp, Southgate reserved special praise for the exciting England midfielder.
"The curious thing about young talent is how will they cope under pressure," Southgate said in an interview with England's media channels.
"You can see the technical ability but it's about how tactically aware they are, how mature, ability to cope with big matches.
"When you're playing for Manchester United, you're always under the spotlight. He's shown that with them, with us in March.
"We've never been afraid to put young players in. If players are good enough we're not so concerned about their age.
"Kobbie has had an amazing season and it was fabulous for him to finish the season with a goal and a trophy."
Decisions remain for Southgate, though, as the England boss prepares to cut his 33-man squad to just 26 players ahead of the upcoming tournament in Germany.
He added: "It will be extremely difficult. It was very difficult to leave players out of this 33 and, of course, there are some younger players coming in with slightly different expectations to this camp.
"But there are going to be some difficult calls to make. We're hoping that not too many of these calls are decided by injury and we've got the strongest possible squad to pick from."
England will play warm-up friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland next week, before starting their group-stage campaign in a June 16 meeting with Serbia.
Denmark and Slovenia will follow for England, who will hope to go one better than their runners-up finish to Italy in the last European Championship three years ago.
"There are so many aspects to being with this group of people that I love," Southgate continued, looking ahead to the upcoming international tournament.
"Ultimately we're trying to form a team and a group that have got to push each other and be there for each other. There's a team dynamic that's crucial to winning that we have to find.
"People will have slightly different roles that they will with their clubs. At their club, all of these guys are pretty much the first choice on the team sheet, so some have different roles in the next few weeks.
"The challenge of winning the games and the excitement of seeing our fans out there in some of the biggest occasions in world football is why you're in the game really. That's what we're looking forward to."
'Still England's best bowler' – Australia's Lyon stunned by Anderson retirement
James Anderson retiring from Test cricket shocked Nathan Lyon as the Australian spinner believes England's veteran would still be their best bowler.
England great Anderson will call time to his storied red-ball career when Brendon McCullum's side host West Indies at Lord's, starting on July 10.
The Lancashire bowler leaves the international scene as England's all-time leading wicket-taker in Test cricket, with 700 dismissals in 187 appearances.
His wicket-taking heroics are the most by any pace bowler in Test history, and Anderson's decision came as welcome news to Ashes rival Lyon.
"Obviously, Jimmy Anderson is in the conversation of being the greatest fast bowler of all time," Lyon told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Good luck to Jimmy and I look forward to playing with him at Lancashire, but I'm glad he won't be coming out to the next Ashes."
Anderson's hand appeared somewhat forced as England started planning for the future, setting their sights on The Ashes in Australia across late 2025 and into 2026.
By the time that Ashes series arrives, Anderson will be 43.
Owing to Anderson's age, England coach McCullum, managing director Rob Key and captain Ben Stokes, want to test the likes of Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Gus Atkinson as pace-bowling options.
With Stuart Broad already announcing his retirement after his last outing against Australia, Lyon could not believe England's decision to let Anderson go.
"My care factor for England is pretty low, but I was pretty surprised when I did read that they tapped him on the shoulder," added Lyon.
"I look at James and what he's been able to do for England cricket, it's pretty remarkable.
"This is just my opinion – I still think he would be England's best bowler."
Windies get major boost in rankings ahead of the T20 World Cup
A thumping 3-0 T20 International series sweep over South Africa propelled West Indies up the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings into fourth place, ahead of the much-anticipated T20 World Cup.
Despite missing a few big faces, West Indies managed to sweep the series, and that along with the rise in rankings should provide a significant boost to the confidence of the Darren Sammy-coached side heading into the June 1-29 showpiece to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.
With the series win, West Indies (254 rating points), the champions of the 2012 and 2016 editions of the T20 World Cup, are at the fourth place in the list led by 2007 champions India (264 rating points), with 2021 champions Australia (257 rating points) and defending champions England (254 rating points) at the second and third place respectively.
There were individual bright spots for West Indies in the series, who gained substantially in the T20I Player Rankings. This included stand-in skipper Brandon King, whose 159 runs helped him jump up five places to the eighth position in the Men’s T20I Batting Rankings.
His opening partner, Johnson Charles, who hit a blistering 69 from 26 balls in a Player of the Match performance in the third game of the series, gained 17 spots to reach the 20th place.
Meanwhile, Kyle Mayers (31st place in Batting Rankings) and Gudakesh Motie (27th place in Bowling Rankings) were the other beneficiaries from the recently concluded series.
These results bode well for the Men in Maroon, who will be looking for a record third title during their home T20 World Cup. They are placed in Group C along Afghanistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda.
They start their campaign against Papua New Guinea in Guyana on Sunday.
ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings
India -264 points
Australia - 257 points
England - 254 points
West Indies - 252 points
New Zealand - 250 points
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