SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: This was NOT a Test match… and England’s shocking defence has now become a major Six Nations concern
England learned very little from Sunday’s defeat to Japan. You could even say that they learned absolutely nothing.
This should have been a match for an England A side, not the entire national team.
Rugby has to be very careful with these types of games because it was a total mismatch, a match that England would never lose.
There is something missing in international sport if there is no danger to the result. It does not do the image of rugby any good.
I’m going to England soon, but the big story of the game for me was Japan. Although they scored some nice tries, the Brave Blossoms are still nowhere near the level of the team that impressed on home soil during the 2019 World Cup. It is sad to see.
Japan has faced challenges since then and during the Covid-19 pandemic due to a lack of meaningful action. It showed.
England defeated Japan with ease, but would have learned very little from the Twickenham match
Steve Borthwick must solve England’s defensive problems ahead of the Six Nations
This wasn’t a Test match, it was a foregone conclusion. Eddie Jones smiled at the final whistle, which was bizarre. He has lost the thread in so many ways and that is not good for the image of international rugby.
I really hope Japan can get back on track because the global game needs countries like them to be strong and competitive. Unfortunately they weren’t at Twickenham.
The match didn’t do much for England and I don’t think it did much for Japan either.
England have got their A team back on track with a series of regular matches and that is to be welcomed. If England A had played Japan it would have been a much more meaningful match. Japan just didn’t have the set piece to compete.
The RFU should have ensured that England’s fourth autumn international was against Argentina. Yes, there would have been a risk of another defeat, but who cares? International rugby must be a fully-fledged, competitive game and not a one-sided action. It would have been much more competitive against the Pumas.
That said, even Japan has managed to expose the English defense system, which is still everywhere. Steve Borthwick needs to do that well for the Six Nations.
Defense is about attitude and grassroots organisation, and England isn’t scaring anyone at the moment, which is a real concern.
There was no battle on the futures markets in the first half. England used that dominance to score five tries, with Jamie George taking advantage of the rolling maul with a brace. The match was over at 35-7 at halftime.
Japan managed to expose the English defense system, which is still ubiquitous
England cruised to victory at Twickenham, ending their run of five consecutive defeats
In the second 40 there was a bit of brilliance from Tommy Freeman to set up George Furbank and I thought another Northampton player, Fin Smith, showed some nice touches off the bench in his first autumn appearance.
Smith missed touch once, making the kind of mistake you can make against teams like Japan, but not against the best teams in the world.
But he moved the ball well to create space and created some great moments with Tom Roebuck. Marcus Smith remains England’s number 10, but his namesake showed he also has plenty of talent with his good cameo in the second half.
England finished with nine tries to end their autumn campaign on a high. But overall it was a disappointing month, with three defeats against the big three from the southern hemisphere. They still have significant progress to make.
Defense remains a problem. There just doesn’t seem to be any confidence when they rush up to make tackles. One goes, one stays.
In the back division, Henry Slade is the man setting the tone for the blitz. He routinely leads the defensive line.
The problem is that the men next to him are not doing the same. That creates dog legs in the defense, which can easily be exposed by the opposition.
Japan’s first try was a nice score, but England should never concede like that on home soil against any team, let alone one of Japanese quality.
As I have consistently maintained, I would pick Freeman outside the centre, with Ollie Sleightholme, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Furbank as the back three, which is where England need pace.
Hopefully England will go that route for the Six Nations and show a lot more adventure in the back division.