Barbarians: Five takeaways from Twickenham as ‘toothless’ England crushed in fitting tribute to Phil Bennett

Following a 52-21 victory for the Barbarians over England, here’s our five takeaways from the match at Twickenham on Sunday.

As a spectacle for English Rugby, this was more Vision Express than it was Tom Ford.

Make no mistake about it, against a scratch Barbarians team, even given their existing relationships in the various French shirts, England’s performance was toothless, sluggish and lamentable. From scrummage to lineout, from breakdown to carry, the magnificent Barbarians outplayed and outclassed England in every aspect.

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise – the wake-up call Eddie Jones needed to weed out some of the mediocrity that has permeated this version of England since 2020 – and there’s some serious question marks over a number of both senior and emerging players on the eve of a selection meeting for the Australian tour.

For the Barbarians, it was a performance of Test match steel – with standout showings from Damian Penaud, Levani Botia and Antoine Hastoy. But make no mistake, this performance had the hallmarks of three giants of the French leadership – Fabien Galthie, Shaun Edwards and the peerless French and Barbarians skipper Charles Ollivon, a man that creates team spirit and tough energy in every team he plays in.

Phil Bennett would have been proud of them.

It’s been a long time coming but the belting the Barbarians handed out might just have changed a few selection perspectives for the worse. England’s back-row, other than Tom Curry, were absolutely marmalized by Ollivon, Dylan Cretin, Yoan Tonga and Pierre Bougarit. There can be no more dalliance with the abject mediocrity of Sam Underhill and Callum Chick when players like Jack Willis and Alfie Barbeary are around.

Harry Randall’s inability to