England edge Barbarians in high-scoring affair

LONDON: Harlequins pair Marcus Smith and Alex Dombrandt pressed their claims to feature in England's Rugby World Cup training squad after impressing in Sunday's 51-43 victory over the Barbarians at Twickenham.

Fly-half Smith, who opted to pull out of the England Under-20s squad for the junior world championships, excelled in front of coach Eddie Jones as he scored a clever try to go along with 21 points from the boot.

While Smith earned man of the match honours, back-rower Dombrandt's powerful runs marked him out as another fringe contender for the England squad in Japan.

Jones names his training squad at the end of the month, although neither Smith nor Dombrandt are expected to make the final cut for the World Cup.

Centre Joe Marchant and scrum-half Alex Mitchell also starred as England, who were coached by the Rugby Football Union's pathway development coach Jim Mallinder, were forced to survive a second-half Barbarians fightback.

England led a star-studded Barbarians line-up containing 478 caps 38-12 shortly after half-time, but four quick tries for Pat Lam's men reduced the gap to just three points.

However, a third Smith penalty and a converted Dombrandt try -- his second of the afternoon -- eventually allowed England to close out victory.