Rugby World Cup 2019: England battle to bonus-point victory over Tonga – but there is work to do

England 35-3 Tonga: Manu Tuilagi powered England to a winning start as their World Cup was launched with a win but the statement performance sought by Eddie Jones failed to materialise

Eddie Jones insisted before the Rugby World Cup that England do not need to be at their best until 2 November, which should come as a relief to his players after their run-of-the-mill 35-3 victory over Tonga.

The score fails to reflect the tameness of England four-try victory. They ground things out rather than lighting up the Sapporo Dome.

The display will be of no importance if England go on and reclaim the Webb Ellis Cup in six weeks’ time, but it has to be said the chariot spluttered into life on Sunday. And with Argentina and France looming on the horizon to decide who ultimately emerges from Pool C, England will need to show a big improvement in this tournament.

Owen Farrell and Sonatane Takulua traded early penalties in what proved a fairly low-key start, but the match was brought to life with a bone-crunching rattle when flanker Zane Kapeli levelled Billy Vunipola like we’ve never seen before. But it did not take long for England to wrestle control of the match.

It has been a long time since Tuilagi scored in a World Cup: just two days short of eight injury-ravaged years since he crossed the line against Romania in Dunedin. But his return to international rugby has given England something special that they have lacked for far too long.

The Samoan-born powerhouse managed to score when England were struggling to convert, collecting the ball some eight metres out and forcing his way through the tackle of Leicester colleague Sione Kalamafoni, before carrying Viliami Lolohea and Maama Vaipulu over the line with him.

Moments later he managed it again. This time, though, the hard work was done for him as Elliot Daly’s perfect pass to Jonny May allowed the wing to gallop all of 30 metres, before committing full-back David Halaifonua and popping the ball to Tuilagi on his right shoulder for the centre to jog over.

Though Farrell added a second penalty effort, the half-time lead could easily have been more than the 18-3 that it was, with Sam Underhill and Ben Youngs held up over the line – both requiring lengthy TMO reviews that sapped the energy out of the game.

The first half finished with something of a controversial moment, with Kalamafoni’s thumping tackle on Anthony Watson causing referee Paul Williams to take a long look at the replay. It was a borderline tackle, with Kalamafoni’s shoulder just missing the jaw of Watson. Between them, Williams and TMO Ben Skeen were happy to end the half without dishing out any punishment.

Any hopes that the match would kick into life after the break failed to materialise, as England continued to just do enough to maintain their grip on the game. Farrell kicked another penalty early on to extend the lead to 21-3, but the tries that were expected to rain down from all areas did not come.

Eventually, the pressure told, and just like Australia the day before, the success came from going back to basics and trucking it up. Farrell sent a penalty to touch on the five-metre line, and the English pack demolished the Tongans as they steamrolled over the line to allow Jamie George to score with ease.

England won ... but there is work to do (Getty)

England did manage to find something close to their stride late on, with replacement Jonathan Joseph breaking through the line after lazy tackling from a tiring defence, before releasing Luke Cowan-Dickie to go over for the fourth and final score. They should have bagged another, but Henry Slade’s flashy no-show pass saw the ball flung into touch instead of Daly’s waiting arms with the try line at his mercy.

It summed up the match perfectly.