England vs Georgia result: Jamie George hat-tricks seals dominant win to nil Autumn Nations Cup opponents

England 40-0 Georgia: Saracens forward becomes the first English hooker to score three tries one game as the reigning Six Nations champions send out a statement of intent to their rivals

Jamie George scored a hat-trick as England thrashed Georgia 40-0 (Getty)

Jamie George became the first English hooker to score an international hat-trick as England recorded an emphatic 40-0 victory over Georgia to reinforce their position as Autumn Nations Cup favourites.

The recently crowned Six Nations champions made light work of their opponents in what was the first meeting between the two sides outside of a Rugby World Cup, with George scoring two first-half scores to add to those from debutant Jack Willis and Elliot Daly.

A stubborn Georgian side held first after the break to keep England out for more than 15 minutes, but the pressure told as George sealed his hat-trick before replacement scrum-half Dan Robson wrapped up the victory, with captain Owen Farrell only missing one of his seven kicks at goal in what proved a blemish-free afternoon for the home side.

The only blemish for England on the day came with wing Jonathan Joseph being helped off the field after suffering injury in the process of setting up Daly’s try, with the Bath back experiencing a muscle spasm that left him in visible discomfort.

The statistics will show that it took five attempts for England to capitalise on a five-metre scrum and score, but that does not count the numerous resets during the opening 15 minutes that threatened to set the tone for the rest of the match. However, the first try was worth the frustrating wait as debutant Willis was the man who scored it, with the flanker coming around the corner after Daly’s crashball to carry over, with helpful support from his Wasps captain Joe Launchbury. Whether Willis actually grounded the ball remains a mystery, though referee Nigel Owens had the best position in the house as he saw enough of a grounding to award the try.

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The try didn’t break the Georgian resilience, but it allowed England to gain an ascendancy that only grew as the game wore on. From the get-go, penalties were sent to the corner or formed into scrums, with the memories of the two training sessions between these two sides evidently fresh in the memory.

In 2018 England were filmed being pulmarised by the Georgian pack during a London training session, and the following year a similar afternoon of drills in Oxford descended into a full-on brawl when the visitors displayed their aggressive side a bit too much for England’s liking. Eddie Jones referenced the memories of those sessions on Thursday when he named what he described as a powerful side for this contest, and they very quickly went about making their point.

Fresh from his 50th cap against Italy two weeks ago, George found himself in for an armchair ride thanks to England’s lineout dominance. With the first half resembling a five-metre set-piece training session, the hooker threw to lock Charlie Ewels in the 30th minute, and had just enough time to make it to the driving maul before the Georgian pack splintered, allowing him to surge through and score.

Barely three minutes later, deja vu. George to Ewels, the ball worked back to George and England were quickly celebrating with no doubt over the grounding as England stretched the lead, though Owen Farrell missed the conversion in what proved the only error from the tee of the afternoon.

With Georgia well and truly on the ropes, England finally found their stride to score the try of the match. Youngs received semi-clean ball off the top of the lineout just inside the Georgian half, and the ball was quickly worked through the hands of Farrell and Henry Slade. The Exeter Chiefs centre disguised a nice pass deep to Joseph, who split the Georgian defence and raced clear. With full-back Lasha Khmaladze committed, Joseph put Daly in for the score to cap a flowing move, although the awkward way with which the wing came tumbling down to earth after contact ended his game in painful circumstances, with Joe Marchant on to replace him just before the break.

Jones will have been quietly pleased with the way his side had ground down Georgia early on, but they had to do it all again at the start of the second half - although the arrival of torrential rain certainly played an impact on what became an error-strewn third quarter.

England remained in control both in terms of territory and possession, and the pressure told with yet another five-metre lineout converted via Ewels as George became the first England hooker to bag an international hat-trick.

Jones made full use of his replacements, with Max Malins coming on for his international debut, allowing Robson to snipe over from close range to complete the rout. Georgia has one last chance to get themselves in the scoreboard with only their second visit to the English 22, but any hope of crossing the whitewash ended immediately when fly-half Tedo Abzhandadze missed touch with his penalty effort that brought an end to a predictably one-sided affair.Teams

Teams

England: Elliot Daly; Jonathan Joseph (Joe Marchant, 38), Ollie Lawrence (Max Malins, 62), Henry Slade, Jonny May; Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs (Dan Robson, 62); Ellis Genge (Mako Vunipola, 47), Jamie George (Tom Dunn, 65), Will Stuart (Kyle Sinckler, 47); Charlie Ewels (Tom Curry, 65), Joe Launchbury; Maro Itoje, Jack Willis (Ben Earl, 47), Billy Vunipola.

Georgia: Lasha Khmaladze; Akaki Tabutsadze, Giorgi Kveseladze, Merab Sharikadze, Sandro Svanidze; Tedo Abzhandadze, Gela Aprasidze (Vasil Lobzhanidze, 66); Mikheil Nariashvili (Guram Gogichashvili, 47), Shalva Mamukashvili (Jaba Bregvadze, 47), Beka Gigashvili, (Lexo Kaulashvili, 59); Lasha Jaiani, Grigor Kerdikoshvili (Sandro Todua, 65); Beka Saginadze, Giorgi Tkhilaishvili (Tornike Jalagonia, 73), Beka Gorgadze (Otar Giorgadze, 59).

Replacements not used: Deme Tapladze.

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