England outclasses Georgia 40-0 at wet Twickenham

England outclassed Georgia 40-0 in their Autumn Nations Cup starter on Saturday at the expense of an injury to Jonathan Joseph at Twickenham.

Joseph was hurt while setting up the last try of the first half and had to be helped off.

In an experimental selection, Joseph was bumped from the centers to the right wing but told by coach Eddie Jones to be a floating center, to go where he wants. He was busy as always, and made his biggest contribution while Georgia was thinking of the approaching interval.

England's Ben Youngs, second left, is tackled by Georgia's Merab Sharikadze, during the Autumn Nations Cup rugby uinion match between England and Georgia, at Twickenham, south west London, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. (David DaviesPA via AP)

Ollie Lawrence acted as a decoy, Joseph floated through a hole 40 meters out, slipped one defender, drew the last one, and sent in fullback Elliot Daly for the team’s fourth try.

Owen Farrell's conversion made it 26-0 that England converted into 40-0 with six tries in total.

The best team in Europe outside of the Six Nations was no match for the new Six Nations champion, and followed a 48-7 pasting from Scotland last month in a warmup. The Scots were merciless with the lineout maul, and England also used it as an effective weapon to set up all three of hooker Jamie George’s tries.

A view of England and Georgia players, during a scrum, during the Autumn Nations Cup rugby uinion match between England and Georgia, at Twickenham, south west London, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. (David DaviesPA via AP)

Played in wet conditions, the match was bogged down by 47 set-pieces that suited the monster pack Jones picked to outmuscle the similarly sized Georgians.

Props Ellis Genge and Will Stuart, making his first test start, had the upper hand early in a lengthy series of scrums near the Georgia tryline. Flanker Jack Willis, on debut, had the first try chance disallowed but his second attempt was allowed in the 15th minute.

George scored the next two tries. After throwing in, he joined the back of the lineout maul, and the England players were too tight and organized to be stopped as Georgians spun off them.

Georgia's Beka Gorgadze is brought down, during the Autumn Nations Cup rugby uinion match between England and Georgia, at Twickenham, south west London, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. (David DaviesPA via AP)

Rain returned at halftime, and combined with constant substitutions, the match stuttered even more.

Willis was replaced after a good debut, Genge and Stuart were replaced by British Lions front-rowers Mako Vunipola and Kyle Sinckler, and George was brought off after his third try before the hour mark.

Max Malins made his debut for England at fullback, and England finished its scoring with a try by replacement scrumhalf Dan Robson off a ruck.

England players line up prior to the Autumn Nations Cup rugby uinion match between England and Georgia, at Twickenham, south west London, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. (David DaviesPA via AP)

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WADI AD-DAWASIR, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saood Variawa snatched stage eight from South African compatriot Henk Lategan by three seconds after an impressive comeback drive in the Dakar Rally on Monday.

Variawa, only 20 and driving in his third Dakar, started 26th and was in sixth place with 100 kilometers to go in the 483-kilometer loop outside Wadi ad-Dawasir. Then he was third after 414 and second after 448.

For the second straight day Lategan had a stage win ripped from his grasp. On Sunday his Toyota's rear damper broke 30 kilometers from the finish.

Meanwhile, Luciano Benavides became the overall motorbike leader for the first time in his ninth Dakar after winning a second straight stage and gobbling up all 7 1/2 minutes in bonus time for faultlessly opening the way.

Benavides won the stage by 4:50 over KTM teammate and defending champion Daniel Sanders and replaced Sanders atop the overall by 10 seconds going into the two-day marathon stage.

Monday's stage, the longest of the race, had a cocktail of dunes, valleys and rocks but navigation was easier than expected and it turned into a fast, wind-whipped special.

The top five cars — featuring main title contenders Lategan, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mattias Ekström — were less than a minute apart for the first 400 kilometers until Al-Attiyah's navigation error suddenly dropped him two minutes behind.

Thanks to starting nearly an hour after the opener, Ekström, Variawa sneaked through for his second career stage win. The first last year at 19 made him the youngest stage winner in Dakar history.

Variawa, following his father Shameer as a Dakar racer, suffered tire, navigation and mechanical problems on Sunday but got his Toyota back up to 13th overall with the aim of a maiden top-10 finish.

Al-Attiyah's Dacia got about 45 seconds back in the closing section to finish fifth and limit his time losses to remain the overall leader by four minutes over Ekström, whose Ford was third on the stage, and six minutes over Lategan.

Nani Roma fell from third to fourth, 9 1/2 minutes back, and Ford teammate Carlos Sainz was another minute behind. It's the closest top five after eight stages in 26 years.

The motorbikes of Sanders and Ricky Brabec were quicker in real time but the seven-plus minutes in time bonuses for opening the dusty track helped Benavides win by the same margin he did on Sunday, nearly five minutes.

“These last two stages were a little bit more fast and in these conditions I can read the roadbook super, super good and make good decisions,” Benavides said.

He has eight career motorbike stage wins, three behind his brother Kevin, the champion in 2021 and 2023.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Rider Tosha Schareina competes during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Rider Ricky Brabec competes during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz compete with riders David Brock, bottom right, and Fernando Dominguez, top left, during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Romain Dumas and co-driver Alex Winocq compete with riders David Brock, right, and Fernando Dominguez, in the background, during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Driver Saood Variawa and co-driver Francois Cazalet compete during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)