England’s clash with USA halted due to lightning fears

England’s Test match with the United States was halted in the first half over lightning fears in Washington DC.

The final game of England’s three-match summer tour had kicked off one hour later than scheduled because of bad weather in the American capital.

England led 14-0 through tries from Alex Coles and Luke Northmore and two George Ford conversions when played was halted after 29 minutes.

Scottish referee Sam Grove-White took the players off the field after telling them that was more lightning in the area.

The game had been due to start at 1705 local time (2205 BST) but USA Rugby released a statement 10 minutes before the scheduled kick-off time.

“Match Update. Weather delay ahead of the USA Men vs England match,” the governing body wrote on X.

“New kick-off time will be shared shortly.”

The game eventually began at 1805 local time (2305 BST).

England Rugby posted on their X account that the kick-off was delayed due to a lightning strike in the American capital.

A giant screen at Audi Field told fans to “exit the seating bowl” and “seek shelter in the concourse”.

Football’s Club World Cup was recently held in the US and the tournament was plagued by extreme weather.

Several games were played in fierce heat with temperatures sometimes exceeding 35 degrees Celsius, and Chelsea’s tie with Benfica suffered a lengthy delay after a Charlotte thunderstorm forced the players off the field.

Steve Borthwick’s England were due to wrap up their season against the Eagles after beating Argentina 2-0 in South America.