World Cup also about profile, insists Mitch

ENGLAND head coach John Mitchell played down concerns about a raft of one-sided scorelines at the World Cup as his side seek to secure a quarterfinal spot at the earliest opportunity.

- By ED ELLIOT

The Red Roses, who are favourites to lift the trophy, launched the competition with a crushing 69-7 success over the United States in Sunderland before Samoa were thrashed 73-0 by Australia in the other opening Pool A fixture.

In a series of uneven encounters, Canada trounced Fiji 65-7, defending champions New Zealand defeated Spain 54-8, Ireland overcame Japan 42-14 and South Africa thumped debutants Brazil 66-6.

Mitchell has made 13 changes to his starting XV for today’s clash with Samoa in Northampton, which is expected to bring another resounding win for the hosts.