England Rugby's 2019 year in review
As 2019 comes to a close here’s our look at how a number of the England Rugby teams have done over the past year.
JANUARY
The start of 2019 saw England’s men, women and men’s U20s sides begin their preparations for their respective Six Nations campaigns, with Eddie Jones taking his squad to Portugal for some warm weather training.
England Men Sevens continued their season in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Hamilton and Sydney, finishing third in Australia and they would achieve three bronze finishes over the course of the rest of the season, with the women's sevens side beaten in the Challenge Trophy final in Sydney.
February
The Guinness Six Nations kicked off with one of England’s most memorable victories of recent years as they secured a bonus-point 32-20 win over Ireland in Dublin, as Henry Slade grabbed two tries.
The Red Roses also opened with a bonus-point win in Ireland and continued their impressive month by taking maximum points in their wins over France and Wales, but the England Men U20 team were beaten in their tie with Ireland.
MARCH
In the rain at Twickenham Stadium, the Red Roses ran in 12 tries in an 80-0 win over Scotland to secure the Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam achieving bonus-point wins in each of their games.
Earlier that day at the same venue England’s men drew 38-38 with Scotland as they finished second while England Men U20s finished third as Ireland took the title in their competition.
APRIL
In the second-ever Tyrrells Premier 15s final, Red Roses pair Zoe Harrison and Poppy Cleall both scored twice as Saracens Women beat Harlequins Women 33-17 at Franklin’s Gardens.
England Women Sevens secured their best result of HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Kitakyushu, Japan, as they earned silver after a narrow defeat to Canada in the final.
MAY
The HSBC London Sevens returned in May with two glorious days of sunshine in Twickenham, as Phil Burgess won his 50th cap for England but Fiji would claim the overall title.
At St James’ Park in Newcastle, Saracens were again crowned the best team in Europe as they beat Leinster 20-10 with Owen Farrell contributing 10 points with the boot.
June
There was a historic first-ever double header at Twickenham as the Red Roses beat the Barbarians 40-14 with Lark Davies scoring a hat-trick in their first ever meeting, before an England XV beat the Barbarians 51-43 under the guidance of Jim Mallinder.
At the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Argentina, despite two wins in their group England missed out on a place in the semi-finals but did beat Wales 45-26 to secure fifth place.
The Red Roses travelled to San Diego to play the best five teams in the world in the Women’s Rugby Super Series, where only a defeat to New Zealand prevented them from winning the title. Saracens beat Exeter 37-34 at the Home of England Rugby to complete a double, with England’s Jamie George crossing twice.
JULY
In the sevens qualifiers for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, England were the nominated nation from Great Britain and both teams progressed as the men beat France 31-7 in Colomiers, while the women beat Russia 19-0 in Kazan.
AUGUST
England’s preparations for the Rugby World Cup in Japan continued with Quilter International wins against Wales and Ireland at Twickenham, and a narrow loss to the Welsh in Cardiff.
SEPTEMBER
England took a home Test match away from Twickenham as they faced Italy in their final Quilter International to St James’ Park in Newcastle where on a Friday night they put in an impressive performance to win 37-0.
Eddie Jones’ squad flew out to Japan begin their Rugby World Cup where they began the competition with wins against Tonga (35-3) and USA (45-7).
OCTOBER
In their final Pool C games in Japan, England beat Argentina 39-10 aided by a red card for the Pumas before their final group match against France was cancelled because of Typhoon Hagibis, but they still topped the group.
In Oita, two Jonny May tries helped England overcome Australia 40-16 before one of the most memorable ever performances saw Owen Farrell’s side knock out the world champions and number one ranked side in the world New Zealand with a 19-7 win.
NOVEMBER
In the 2019 Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama, England could not live with South Africa on the day as the Springboks claimed their third world title with a 32-12 victory.
In the Red Roses autumn Quilter Internationals they made it three wins from three with back-to-back wins over France away and at home, before a resounding victory over Italy.
DECEMBER
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series saw the first double header of the season and England’s men and women competed in Dubai, where the men’s side secured bronze, before a historic first double header in Cape Town where women competed for the first time.
