England’s Test match against the United States was suspended in the first half on Saturday due to lightning fears in Washington DC. The game, which had already been delayed by an hour because of severe weather, was stopped after 29 minutes with England leading 14-0.
Tries from Alex Coles and Luke Northmore, along with two conversions from George Ford, had put England ahead before Scottish referee Sam Grove-White took the players off the field. The official cited further lightning in the area as the reason for the stoppage.
The match had been scheduled to kick off at 17:05 local time (22:05 BST), but USA Rugby announced a weather delay ten minutes before the start. England Rugby confirmed the delay was due to a lightning strike in the American capital. The game eventually began at 18:05 local time (23:05 BST).
A giant screen at Audi Field instructed fans to “exit the seating bowl” and “seek shelter in the concourse” during the delay. The disruption follows a pattern of extreme weather affecting sporting events in the US, including the recent Club World Cup, where matches were played in intense heat and a Chelsea-Benfica game suffered a lengthy delay due to a thunderstorm.
England, under head coach Steve Borthwick, were concluding their summer tour with this match against the Eagles, having previously defeated Argentina 2-0 in South America.
