A crowd of 62,000 turned up yesterday to pay homage to Jonah Lomu but went home singing the praises of several young Englishman. It was no small achievement for a largely untried home side to beat a Barbarian starting lineup boasting 486 international caps and, in James Simpson-Daniel, Clive Woodward now knows he has a talent who can sparkle in any company.
No one would ever pretend that a Barbarian fixture offers the same intensity as a Test match. But English rugby has a mighty encouraging fresh wave of talent coming through and the spectacular try Simpson-Daniel scored down Lomu's wing after 35 minutes looks certain to be the first of many champagne moments in a senior England jersey. Receiving the ball at fly-half, the 19-year-old Gloucester winger shaped to pass to Phil Christophers only to lob it to himself and leave Percy Montgomery totally bamboozled.
From there he went around Lomu as if he were a stationary double-decker bus and completed the job with a flying dive past some minor Kiwi talent called Christian Cullen.
The next step seems certain to be a full Test debut in Argentina next month, with Woodward poised to name his 30-man squad tomorrow, and the Barbarians' lock Ian Jones is among those convinced that Simpson-Daniel is more than ready. "Some of the incumbents may be wanting to reconsider their summer plans because, if these guys perform out in Argentina like they did here, it's going to be bloody hard to get back into the England team, "said Jones.
Woodward was even heard to mutter afterwards that Simpson-Daniel, who answers to the nickname Sinbad, was "a better player" than Jeremy Guscott. Yesterday, however, was far from a one-man show and his Gloucester teammates Jamie Forrester and Andy Gomarsall, Harlequins' Alex Codling and Bristol's Christophers, who scored two tries, looked thoroughly at home.
The first sign that the game might not be the processional affair predicted in some quarters came when the Newcastle lock Hugh Vyvyan chased and caught Lomu on the big man's first upfield rumble and England had four tries on the scoreboard before half-time, including a fine 65-metre solo effort from Forrester.
The Barbarians, already disrupted by Abdel Benazzi's withdrawal following the death of his father on Saturday, rarely found any rhythm with a mass twanging of hamstrings costing them the services of four leading players, including Todd Blackadder and Thomas Castaignède.
An exception was Montwith pride - "I'd warned him to run fast if Lomu came anywhere near him"- and even Woodward admitted the young man's skills had "put a smile on my face".
England: Horak (London Irish);SimpsonDaniel (Gloucester), Appleford (London Irish; Sorrell , Saracens, 72), Johnston (Saracens), Christophers (Bristol); Walder (Newcastle; Jones , Orrell, 76), Gomarsall (Gloucester; Walshe , Sale 76);W odman (Gloucester; Flatman , Saracens, 76), Thompson (Northampton;Regan (Bath 76), Vickery (Gloucester, capt), Codling (Harlequins), Vyvyan (Newcastle; Pearce, Gloucester 52), Gustard (London Irish), Forrester (Gloucester; Seely, Northampton 52), W rsley (Wasps).
Tries: Forrester, Thompson, Simpson-Daniel, Horak, Christophers 2, Walder.Cons: Walder 5, Gomarsall.Pens:Walder 2.
Barbarians: Cullen (New Zealand);Rossouw (South Africa; Robinson, New Zealand, 76), Glas (France;Castaignède, France, 6; Montgomery, South Africa, 22), Alatini (New Zealand), Lomu (New Zealand);Van Straaten (South Africa), Pichot (Argentina);Califano (France), Drotske (South Africa;Ledesma, Argentina, 57), Garvey (South Africa;Dowd, New Zealand, 63), Roche (Saracens), Jones (New Zealand), Blackadder (New Zealand, capt;Lam, Samoa, 14), Vanisi (Wellington Hurricanes;Kronfeld, New Zealand, h-t), Taylor (Scotland).
Tries: Jones, Montgomery, Taylor 2, Lam.
Cons: Van Straaten 2.
Referee: P Adams (Wales).
Attendance: 62, 000..
