England overcome weather delays and disruption to clinch USA triumph
The clash was also delayed by a subsequent half an hour when the players were marched off after a second strike but Steve Borthwick's side, who did concede late on when Shilo Klein crashed over for the hosts, kept their composure to stroll to a comfortable triumph.
The result stretches England's current winning run to seven matches, their longest since back in 2020 ahead of upcoming autumn internationals against the likes of Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
The Saturday night encounter was the second of an Audi Field double header after USA had battled past Fiji 31-24 in front of a US women's record 15,198 fans earlier in the afternoon.
That initially gave both sides just under an hour to gear up for the men's encounter as centre Max Ojomoh, full-back Joe Carpenter and second row Arthur Clark all prepared for their England debuts.
Exeter Chiefs flyer Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was also making his hotly-anticipated return after missing the Argentinian leg of the tour while serving a two-match ban for a high tackle in a pre-tour warm-up match against a France XV.
But a weather alert just 15 minutes before kick-off meant the match was delayed by an hour as the players were evacuated after a lightning strike.
With proceedings eventually getting underway at 6:05pm local time, both sets of players emerged to another packed-out crowd as the flashes in the sky were replaced by a pyrotechnics display to greet their arrival from the tunnel.
The encounter started scrappily but England could have grabbed an early breakthrough when debutant Clark was set free only for a penalty to be awarded for a forward pass from Van Poortvliet, matchwinner in the second Test against Argentina last weekend, in the build-up.
The Eagles were dealt a blow shortly after when fly-half Chris Hilsenbeck received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on – and England took full advantage when Langdon bundled over after a rolling maul just two minutes later.
And they doubled their lead moments after when Ojomoh deftly put centre partner Northmore in to cross under the posts.
George Ford, fresh off the back of his 100th cap in South America and a celebratory visit to the British Embassy in DC earlier this week, converted once again to fire England into a 14-0 lead.
England thought they had a third when Alex Dombrandt crossed following an efficient-looking line-out routine but the try was disallowed for obstruction from the Harlequins No.8.
And just seconds after that, both sets of players were marched off the pitch once again following more lightning within 10 miles from the stadium.
Official rules dictate that there has to be 30 minutes without a lightning strike before play can resume, with players therefore eventually emerging for a 7:10pm restart time.
The Red Rose thought they'd grabbed a third once again shortly after the stoppage but Carpenter was denied a debut try after a knock-on by Murley.
But the Harlequins winger made amends just moments later when he weaved in from the left to dot down and finally stretch England's lead to 19-0.
Borthwick's players continued their ruthless mood immediately after the break when Northmore played in Van Poortvliet for the scrum-half to grab his second try in as many matches.
The England chief begun to ring the changes as the second half progressed, bringing on Randall, Fin Baxter and Ben Curry just after the 50th minute.
And scrum-half Randall got in on the act 10 minutes after entering the fray, crossing after being played in by Feyi-Waboso following a brilliant break to extend England's lead to over 30 points.
Borthwick then handed debuts to hooker Oghre and fly-half Charlie Atkinson as the game headed towards a conclusion.
And both wasted no time in marking the occasion in style, with Oghre bundling over from close range before Atkinson's conversion hauled England's lead to 40 points.
USA grabbed a late consolation through Klein to give the home fans who remained something to cheer about but England's work was done as they ended their triumphant tour in style.
Purchase your tickets to the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium https://www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
11 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
How Joe Root compares to greats after moving second on list of Test run-scorers
Here, the PA news agency looks at how he compares to the greats of the game. One more rung to climb… 🪜 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 25, 2025 – Root climbed from fifth at the start of the Old Trafford Test to second as his score of 150 took him past India great Rahul Dravid, former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis and ex-Australia captain Ricky Ponting – who hailed Root as 'magnificent' while commentating for Sky Sports. – Sachin Tendulkar's 15,921 runs remains the all-time Test record, with Root now 2,512 behind on 13,409. – Sir Alastair Cook, whose England record of 12,472 Root passed last year, ranks sixth on the list. – The top 10 is completed by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, West Indies pair Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sangakkara's long-time team-mate Mahela Jayawardene. – Fifteen men in all have passed 10,000 runs in Test cricket, with Australian trio Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Steve Smith, India's Sunil Gavaskar and Pakistan's Younis Khan, with 10,099, rounding out that group. New Zealand's Kane Williamson, on 9,276, is the nearest active player outside that mark. – Root has 13,409 Test runs at an average of 51.18, in 157 matches and 286 innings. – He made his Test debut in 2012, scoring 73 against India in his first innings. – The first of his England-record 38 centuries came the following year against New Zealand. His 66 half-centuries are also the most for his country. – Root's most prolific year brought him 1,708 Test runs in 2021 at an average of 61 – though his best average for a single year is 97.13 in 2014, helped by unbeaten scores of 200 against Sri Lanka and 154 and 149 against India. – He has more runs against India than any other nation, 3,249 in 34 Tests, with Friday's effort his 12th ton against them. He has over 1,000 runs against every opponent bar Bangladesh and Ireland, against whom he has played just two Tests each, and Zimbabwe (one). – Over 8,000 of Root's runs have been made in his customary number four position, where he averages 52.11. His best average by position is 61.05 at number five while his career-best score of 262 was made at number three, against Pakistan last year. – Earlier in the series against India, he also set a world record with his 211th Test catch, passing Dravid at the top of that list.
South Wales Argus
11 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
How Joe Root compares to greats after moving second on list of Test run-scorers
Here, the PA news agency looks at how he compares to the greats of the game. Climbing the ranks One more rung to climb… 🪜 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 25, 2025 – Root climbed from fifth at the start of the Old Trafford Test to second as his score of 150 took him past India great Rahul Dravid, former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis and ex-Australia captain Ricky Ponting – who hailed Root as 'magnificent' while commentating for Sky Sports. – Sachin Tendulkar's 15,921 runs remains the all-time Test record, with Root now 2,512 behind on 13,409. – Sir Alastair Cook, whose England record of 12,472 Root passed last year, ranks sixth on the list. – The top 10 is completed by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, West Indies pair Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sangakkara's long-time team-mate Mahela Jayawardene. – Fifteen men in all have passed 10,000 runs in Test cricket, with Australian trio Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Steve Smith, India's Sunil Gavaskar and Pakistan's Younis Khan, with 10,099, rounding out that group. New Zealand's Kane Williamson, on 9,276, is the nearest active player outside that mark. Root's record Root has been a consistent presence in England's top order (Nick Potts/PA) – Root has 13,409 Test runs at an average of 51.18, in 157 matches and 286 innings. – He made his Test debut in 2012, scoring 73 against India in his first innings. – The first of his England-record 38 centuries came the following year against New Zealand. His 66 half-centuries are also the most for his country. – Root's most prolific year brought him 1,708 Test runs in 2021 at an average of 61 – though his best average for a single year is 97.13 in 2014, helped by unbeaten scores of 200 against Sri Lanka and 154 and 149 against India. – He has more runs against India than any other nation, 3,249 in 34 Tests, with Friday's effort his 12th ton against them. He has over 1,000 runs against every opponent bar Bangladesh and Ireland, against whom he has played just two Tests each, and Zimbabwe (one). – Over 8,000 of Root's runs have been made in his customary number four position, where he averages 52.11. His best average by position is 61.05 at number five while his career-best score of 262 was made at number three, against Pakistan last year. – Earlier in the series against India, he also set a world record with his 211th Test catch, passing Dravid at the top of that list.
Leader Live
11 minutes ago
- Leader Live
How Joe Root compares to greats after moving second on list of Test run-scorers
Here, the PA news agency looks at how he compares to the greats of the game. One more rung to climb… 🪜 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 25, 2025 – Root climbed from fifth at the start of the Old Trafford Test to second as his score of 150 took him past India great Rahul Dravid, former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis and ex-Australia captain Ricky Ponting – who hailed Root as 'magnificent' while commentating for Sky Sports. – Sachin Tendulkar's 15,921 runs remains the all-time Test record, with Root now 2,512 behind on 13,409. – Sir Alastair Cook, whose England record of 12,472 Root passed last year, ranks sixth on the list. – The top 10 is completed by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, West Indies pair Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sangakkara's long-time team-mate Mahela Jayawardene. – Fifteen men in all have passed 10,000 runs in Test cricket, with Australian trio Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Steve Smith, India's Sunil Gavaskar and Pakistan's Younis Khan, with 10,099, rounding out that group. New Zealand's Kane Williamson, on 9,276, is the nearest active player outside that mark. – Root has 13,409 Test runs at an average of 51.18, in 157 matches and 286 innings. – He made his Test debut in 2012, scoring 73 against India in his first innings. – The first of his England-record 38 centuries came the following year against New Zealand. His 66 half-centuries are also the most for his country. – Root's most prolific year brought him 1,708 Test runs in 2021 at an average of 61 – though his best average for a single year is 97.13 in 2014, helped by unbeaten scores of 200 against Sri Lanka and 154 and 149 against India. – He has more runs against India than any other nation, 3,249 in 34 Tests, with Friday's effort his 12th ton against them. He has over 1,000 runs against every opponent bar Bangladesh and Ireland, against whom he has played just two Tests each, and Zimbabwe (one). – Over 8,000 of Root's runs have been made in his customary number four position, where he averages 52.11. His best average by position is 61.05 at number five while his career-best score of 262 was made at number three, against Pakistan last year. – Earlier in the series against India, he also set a world record with his 211th Test catch, passing Dravid at the top of that list.
