Hang out, England have won a Test. Steve Borthwick’s national team ended their run of five straight defeats with a thumping destruction of outclassed Japan.
In the process, they ruined Eddie Jones’ return to Twickenham, which will have gone down well with the RFU hierarchy. The Australian was back in pantomime villain guise following revelations in Danny Care’s autobiography of a toxic ‘bullying’ culture during his seven-year reign here, but the only bullying yesterday came at the hands of the overbearing hosts.
This was a routine, predictable outcome. In time, Jones can make Japan a powerhouse again, but right now that’s a distant prospect. So all England could do was beat the limited opposition in front of them and they did so comfortably, to end a painful Autumn Nations Series campaign on a positive note.
The stark fact is that this was a somewhat hollow victory, over a country currently ranked 13th in the World Rugby rankings. It was an entertaining display of nine tries in front of the packed crowd in South West London, but it will not erase the frustrations of the previous weeks.
England’s home month produced this solitary victory, after three consecutive defeats; against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Having also lost twice to the All Blacks on their summer tour, Borthwick’s men were in a rut, so this was certainly a welcome boost.
In itself it was satisfying enough, especially as there was a debut for Asher Opoku-Fordjour and a first Test attempt for Tom Roebuck. But there will be no wild euphoria in the Red Rose camp. They will be well aware that running an insurgency against Japan will not make much difference when they reconvene to prepare for their next assignment; a fearsome Six Nations opener against Ireland in Dublin.
England ended the season by ending their five-match losing streak with an emphatic win
Japan, 13th in the World Rugby rankings, only managed to score twice against England
Steve Borthwick’s side next play Ireland for their Six Nations opener in Dublin in February 2025
What they have done is earn some peace and breathing space. Borthwick can bring its players back together in January with some happy memories to capitalize on. The quest will be to ensure that 2025 is a damn sight better than 2024, which produced just five wins in twelve Tests. That is far below expectations.
In wet and wild conditions, Japan enjoyed early dominance – breaking England’s habit of making quick starts – and they had a chance to take the lead in the fifth minute. After earning a penalty halfway through, captain Naoto Saito put a long shot on target, but his effort went wide.
There were some awkward language errors during the opening conversations; a few misplaced passes, a free-kick against the first scrum and that penalty against a bewildered, irritated Ben Earl. Then the narrow home defense was almost exposed by a daring Japanese attack, but when the ball reached Jone Naikabula in space he sliced a kicking attempt forward wide.
In the ninth minute England’s attack clicked and they took the lead. Marcus Smith’s no-look pass set Ollie Lawrence clear into midfield and he released Earl, who accelerated to score between the posts. Smith converted. The procession had started.
Four minutes later, Lawrence made another telling run against the visitors’ 22 and Jamie George fired through, all the way to the line. Japan held firm, but conceded a penalty. From the resulting lineout the home pack rode well and Sam Underhill broke off to muscle his way and stretch to land. It was the flanker’s final act as he was helped off – when Smith converted again – and replaced by Chandler Cunningham-South.
England’s attackers were able to exert such dominance over their opponents that it was inevitable that more tries would soon follow. Sure enough, in the 23rd minute a penalty was brilliantly kicked into the left corner by Smith, the lineout routine went smoothly and the pack raced over the line for George to score. Another conversion on target; 21-0. Just sailing. No danger this time.
Tommy Freeman pounced into the right corner soon afterwards to finish off an attack sparked by a dazzling break from Smith, but replays highlighted a Jack van Poortvliet downer in the build-up. It doesn’t matter. Nine minutes before half-time, England won a scrum penalty with an emphatic push and from another lineout drive – this time on the right – George struck again. Smith added the extras again. It became 28-0. The crowd danced and sang in the rain.
Then there was a bolt from the blue. Japan struck back, in one style or another. The Brave Blossoms counter-attacked at pace from deep in their own half, working the ball straight to Dylan Riley, who stormed clear and drew the last defender before sending Saito to the line. It was a thrilling, eye-catching effort that was rightly praised by the crowd, before the skipper converted his own effort.
It took just nine minutes for England’s attack to click and establish an early lead over Japan
The visitors could only score when England were 28-0 up, with Dylan Riley scoring Japan’s first try
Normal service was soon resumed as England had the final say before half time. Lawrence danced into space after an attack faltered, Will Stuart stumbled through a gap and sent a glorious pass to Cunningham-South. The flanker in turn released Ollie Sleightholme and he produced a crisp finish from a deft forward kick. Smith was on target again from the tee and the hosts took the lead 35-7.
After the break, Japan threw the kitchen sink at England, no doubt with some nice words from Jones ringing in their ears. They played with speed and tenacity, ingenuity and ferocity, and should have made an effort to show that, but winger Tomoki Osada failed to pick out teammates with a flawless run to the line as he broke clear on the right.
Eventually England regained the upper hand and struck again. A loose lineout from the visitors created an opening and Luke Cowan-Dickie’s pass saw Henry Slade kick low into the right corner, Freeman won the race for the ball and delivered a stunning behind-the-back pass to George Furbank who headed over the ball went. . The smiles among the players on the pitch and on the bench were testament to the sublime skill Northampton wing Freeman demonstrated with the box-office assist.
When in doubt, England could always return to the route-one approach to strengthen their command, and they did so again on the hour. A penalty was sent to the left corner for a lineout catch and drive, and a try for the hooker – this time Cowan-Dickie. The trick proved effective, so it made sense to keep using it, especially in the tricky conditions.
Japan needed other tricks. They had to play with pace and when they managed to make a quick move it paid off. Saito raced into the 22 but Smith – moved to wing-back – did well to deny him, but the visitors kept coming and flanker Kazuki Himeno took an off-load to finish with a flourish. Takura Matsunaga converted.
The pendulum swung again in an increasingly open battle. First Roebuck came close on the right for his first England effort but was brought down just short of the line, before a series of drives ended with Cowan-Dickie touching down again. Then a kick pass from Finn Smith presented Roebuck with another opportunity and this time he would not be denied; going over after a handoff for a great try and swerving to confuse the last two Japanese defenders.
Smith took his conversion count to seven. He was happy afterwards. After all the near misses, this was at least a step in the right direction.